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 Westbrook scored 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, lifting
the Thunder to a 117-113 victory over the Lakers on Friday night at
Staples Center.
"He has a motor that never stops. Russell is a beast," said Lakers
forward Kobe Bryant, who finished with 19 points and six assists.
Westbrook also had 12 rebounds and seven assists. Forward Kevin
Durant had 24 points and seven rebounds as the Thunder (26-11)
defeated the Lakers for the seventh consecutive time.
"Just trying to pick my spots," said Westbrook, who made 11 of 24
shots and 13 of 16 free throws. "They were basically trying to deny
Kevin, so I tried to use that to our advantage and get into the
paint and try to find guys and score at the same time."
Center Enes Kanter came off the bench to contribute 15 points and
nine rebounds for Oklahoma City.
Williams scored a career-high 44 points, 23 of those in the fourth
quarter, as he single-handedly rallied the Lakers (8-30). Williams
connected on 12 of 25 field goals, tying a career high for shots
made, hit five of 14 3-point attempts and was a perfect 15-for-15 at
the line.
"He got in a great grove," Bryant said. "He just got to the basket
and got to the line."
Guard Jordan Clarkson chipped in 17 points for Los Angeles.
Clarkson's 3-pointer with 18.3 seconds remaining cut Oklahoma City's
lead to 114-113 before Westbrook made one of two free throws for a
two-point advantage with 13.1 seconds left.
With Durant defending, Bryant misfired on a drive with 3.2 seconds
left. Westbrook clinched the win with two more foul shots.
"We didn't want to lose this game," said Durant, who finished
hitting 10 of 15 shots.
Williams almost stole it. But the 6-1 Lakers' guard ran out of gas
in the game's final minutes.
"He played well tonight, hit some tough shots, forced us to make
some changes defensively," Westbrook said.
Williams caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of the
Lakers' initial 19 points and giving them a 104-101 lead with 4:18
remaining in the contest. However, a Durant jumper and two Westbrook
free throws with 3:27 remaining put the Thunder up again.
Three foul shots by Williams boosted Los Angeles to a 107-105 lead
20 seconds later, but Westbrook knotted the score on a drive with
three minutes left. Williams converted three more free throws for a
three-point Lakers advantage, but Westbrook tied the score again
with a three-point play with 1:45 left.
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A dunk by Oklahoma City center Steven Adams, on an assist from
Westbrook, put the Thunder up 112-110 with 1:21 left. They never
trailed again. Adams added two more foul shots with 49.9 seconds
remaining for a four-point Thunder lead.
The game was much more competitive that the previous two this
season, which resulted in 40- and 35-point blowouts by the Thunder.
"I told them that I am proud of them and the way that they were
fighting the last couple of games, and how hard they have been
playing," Lakers coach Byron Scott said.
Durant extended his NBA-best streak of games with 20 or more points
to 22 in a row.
"We didn't play as well as we wanted to tonight, but sometimes you
have to dig deep and get those wins," Durant said. "I thought we did
a good job. You never want to take a win for granted."
Lakers rookie guard D'Angelo Russell, who suffered a right ankle
sprain in Thursday's loss to the Sacramento Kings, was forced out of
Friday's game because of it. Russell managed just two points and two
assists in more than seven minutes but was clearly hobbling.
NOTES: Lakers rookie G D'Angelo Russell was all the rage during the
pregame media sessions with the two coaches. Russell enjoyed a
breakout performance against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday,
scoring a career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field
in the Lakers' 118-115 loss. "We've been saying this for about a
month. The kid is getting better and better," Lakers coach Byron
Scott said. "His growth has been great, so we want this to
continue." Added Oklahoma City's Billy Donovan, "He has really good
vision and feel for the game." ... Oklahoma City has an 18-3 record
against Western Conference opponents after the win. ... Both clubs
resume play Sunday. The Thunder visit the Portland Trail Blazers in
the second game of their three-game swing and the Lakers play host
to the Utah Jazz.
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