MARANA, Ariz. Nashville Predators Shop Free Shipping . -- Its rare to hear Ernie Els describe his week at the Match Play Championship as "wonderful." Hes usually not around long enough to say anything at all. This time, the wacky world of match play is working in his favour. Even though Els has made more bogeys than birdies, even though he didnt break par at Dove Mountain until his quarterfinal match Saturday, the 44-year-old South African is two matches away from claiming another World Golf Championship. Els made birdie from the desert on the par-5 eighth hole to take the lead for good against 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, and then pulled away for a 4-and-2 victory to reach the semifinals for the first time in 13 years. "At times I havent played my best, as you guys have well-documented and know," Els said with a laugh. "But its match play. Ive just done enough to get through." Graeme McDowell was the only other player who felt lucky to still be around, only for his luck to run out against Victor Dubuisson of France. McDowell had reached the quarterfinals even though he never led a single hole while any of his previous three matches were in progress. He finally took a lead -- 60 holes into this tournament -- and wound up losing. Typical of his week, it went down to the wire. Dubuisson hit a beautiful chip from the rough in front of a corporate suite behind the 16th green to save par, while McDowell missed a 6-foot putt to lose the hole. Dubuisson saved par with another superb chip behind the 17th green, and had one more in his bag from below the 18th green to save yet another par. McDowell narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt that would have extended the match. "Lucky, lucky to even be here today," McDowell said. "But actually played quite nicely most of the day. It all boiled down to my putter actually let me down. I had a chance on 14 for the hole, chance on 15 for the hole, missed a short one on 16. My luck is going to run out sooner than later." Els plays Dubuisson, a rising star in the European ranks who won the Turkish Open, where Tiger Woods finished five shots behind. In other quarterfinal matches: -- Jason Day reached the semifinals for the second straight year with a 2-and-1 win over Louis Oosthuizen, who played with a nagging back injury. -- Rickie Fowler lost a 3-up lead to Arizona grad Jim Furyk, only to win the last two holes for a 1-up victory for a shot at Day. Furyk was in the same spot as Dubuisson on the 18th hole, but his first chip rolled back down the hill toward his feet. Fowler is the No. 53 seed, the highest to reach the semifinals since Zach Johnson was No. 59 in 2006 when it was held at La Costa. Els long held a reputation as a wizard in match play, having captured the World Match Play Championship seven times when it was at Wentworth and featured smaller fields and 36-hole matches. This version hasnt been kind to him. He reached the semifinals in 2001 at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, only to lose to Pierre Fulke. Els didnt imagine it would take this long to get back, though he understands that anything can happen -- and usually does -- over 18 holes of match play. "I really had a love-hate relationship with this event, as you guys well know," he said. "I was lucky enough to get in the field a couple of years ago and beat Luke Donald in the first round. But most of the time, I lost in the first round here either on the 18th or 19th hole. Its been a frustrating time in this event." The semifinals will be Sunday morning, following by the championship match. "Im just very glad to be here on Sunday," Els said. "Hopefully, it goes good tomorrow. I still feel Ive got a really good one in me." Fowler never looked like he would need to go 18th holes the way his match against Furyk started. And then he was happy to get there. Furyk was 3 down with only six holes remaining when he made three straight birdies and won a fourth straight hole at No. 16 with a par when Fowler flubbed a chip. Furyk missed the fairway on the 17th, however, allowing Fowler to square the match. On the 18th, Furyk came up just a fraction short of perfect and saw the ball roll back down the false front of the green. His chip was heavy, and that one rolled back toward his feet and led to bogey. Fowler navigated a quick birdie putt down the slope to a concession range and escaped. "Disappointed," said Furyk, in the quarterfinals for the first time in 14 appearances in this World Golf Championship. "I fought all way back from 3 down. I had all the momentum and I didnt put the ball on the fairway on 17 and didnt put the ball in the fairway on 18. I dont feel I handed the match away, but I definitely made it too easy on him the last two holes." It was the third straight round in which Fowler was trailing with three holes to play, and he pulled out wins against Jimmy Walker, Sergio Garcia and Furyk. The only easy time Fowler had was against Ian Poulter. "Its nice to get a win no matter how it happens," Fowler said. Wholesale Nashville Predators Jerseys . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Authentic Kyle Turris Jersey . Reimer is winless (0-2-1) since returning from a six-week absence due to concussion-like symptoms. The Maple Leafs dropped a 4-2 decision to the hosting Washington Capitals on Friday. http://www.cheappredatorsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-roman-josi-jersey . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kevin Durant insists he cant do it alone. The Oklahoma City forward said hes going to need help picking up the slack, with running mate Russell Westbrook out until after the All-Star break following knee surgery Friday. "I need Reggie Jackson. I need Serge Ibaka. I need Kendrick Perkins. Im not afraid to say that," Durant said. "I need to lean on those guys, just like we need to lean on each other. That is what team is about. So through adversity we just have to lean on each other." But at least on this night, the Thunder leaned heavily on Durant, especially down the stretch. Durant scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 12 rebounds as the Thunder held on to defeat the Charlotte Bobcats 89-85 Friday night. The team announced before the game that Westbrook will miss at least 27 games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in Los Angeles. Durant did get some help. Ibaka had 12 points and nine rebounds and Thabo Sefolosha had 12 points and a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds left to seal the victory for the Thunder, who have won seven straight road games and 11 of 12 overall. But Jackson, who started in place of Westbrook, was only 4 of 19 from the floor and Perkins failed to score despite playing more than 25 minutes. "Obviously, it was an emotional day with Russell, but I thought we did a good job of handling that," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Now weve got to work and improve the rest of the season." As for Jackson, Brooks said he has confidence that "hell get better. Hell challenge himself to shoot better and he will." Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 18 points and seven assists. Al Jefferson added 16 points and 11 rebounds. This one came right down to the wire. After tailing most of the game, Charlotte had a chance to steal the win with 3.9 seconds left but Josh McRoberts missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the left wing. Sefolosha was fouled and clinched it with two foul shots on the other end. Bobcats coach Steve Clifford wasnt satisfied with his team taking one of the leagues best teams to the wire. "This may surprise you, but I didnt like at all the way we played," Clifford said. Authentic Yannick Weber Jersey. "I didnt like our defence. Our attention to detail was not good at all. The things we talked about this morning that we had to do, we did a poor job with. We gave them baskets. Our effort on the glass was not anywhere it needs to be." The Thunder led 76-74 with 5 minutes remaining when Durant knocked down a pair of 3s to give Oklahoma City the momentum. He added a step-back jumper and a driving layup to push the advantage to 86-78. But Anthony Tolliver hit a 3-pointer and Walker converted a breakaway layup to cut the lead to three with 49 seconds left. Durant left the door open when he missed a pull-up jumper with 25 seconds left, and the Bobcats grabbed the rebound. Instead of going for a 3-pointer to tie, Walker drove the lane and scored on a layup that cut the deficit to one. Jackson was fouled on the inbounds pass and hit one of two free throws with 10.7 seconds to go, setting up a chance for McRoberts. "I think Ibaka ran down there to cover Kemba and I got a wide-open look at it," McRoberts said. "Ill take that shot every time. Were frustrated we lost. There are no moral victories." The surprising news on Westbrook came just two days after he had a triple-double against the New York Knicks. General manager Sam Presti said in a news release that Westbrook has been playing pain-free, but "recently had experienced increased swelling" in his right knee. Westbrooks knee problems began in April when he tore his meniscus in the second game of the Western Conference playoffs. He had a second arthroscopic surgery before training camp. Oklahoma City is 21-3 with Westbrook in the starting lineup and 3-2 without him. "He was playing great basketball, probably some of the best basketball in the entire league," Brooks said. "Were looking forward to him coming back and getting back to the level that he has played at -- and he will." NOTES: The Bobcats embark on a five-game road trip beginning Saturday night in Atlanta. ... Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and wide receivers Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr. attended the game. ... 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