|
 Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Thunder were still upset by the
teams' last encounter, in which they lost by four on Sunday in Los
Angeles. That was enough to fuel Oklahoma City's 131-102 victory
over the Lakers on Thursday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
"I'm always pissed about losing the game," Thunder guard Russell
Westbrook said. "I'm pretty sure everyone else was mad, too. I was
thinking about this game since I left L.A."
Westbrook and forward Kevin Durant each scored 29 points to lead the
Thunder. It was Durant's 30th consecutive game with 25 or more
points, the second-longest streak in the NBA since Michael Jordan's
40-game run in 1986-87.
"Every time they needed something, they got it, whether it was
Durant making shots or Westbrook being aggressive," Lakers guard
Jordan Farmar said. "Tonight, it just seemed like one of those
nights where every time we had some positive momentum, they did
something to combat that."
In each of the past three games, the Thunder (48-17) jumped out to
large leads, only to see them shrink by the fourth quarter. One of
those losses came against the Lakers, in which they surrendered an
18-point advantage.
It looked as if the pattern would appear again when the Lakers cut a
23-point deficit to 11 midway through the third quarter.
Then, with Durant on the bench with four fouls, Westbrook led the
Thunder on a 21-5 run.
"I thought the second half we were trying to creep back in, and
Westbrook had about three straight 3-pointers, banked one in,"
Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We fouled him on (another
attempt), so there was about 12 points. It was just one of those
nights."
In addition to Westbrook's shooting, Thunder forward Serge Ibaka's
defensive prowess around the basket was a difference-maker. Ibaka's
seven blocked shots got Oklahoma City's fast break running.
With the clock running down at the end of the third quarter, Ibaka
swatted a shot by Lakers forward Xavier Henry. Thunder guard Reggie
Jackson pushed the ball upcourt to forward Caron Butler, who buried
a 3-pointer as the third-quarter buzzer sounded. Oklahoma City led
101-77 and never looked back.
Westbrook handed out nine assists to go along with three steals.
Ibaka finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Butler scored 11
points and grabbed six rebounds as he continues to establish himself
in the Thunder rotation. As a team, the Thunder outrebounded the
Lakers 60-37.
[to top of second column] |
Guard Jodie Meeks scored 19 points to lead the Lakers. It was far
below his 42-point effort Sunday.
"He just happened to get lucky the first time," Westbrook said.
"We're not worried about what Jodie Meeks does."
Forward Kent Bazemore came off the bench to post 16 points and seven
rebounds for the Lakers (22-43). Center Pau Gasol scored 14 points
in the defeat.
Westbrook's fiery play on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets
carried over into the first quarter against the Lakers. He began the
evening with a steal and breakaway dunk. He ended the quarter with
11 points in seven minutes, and Oklahoma City held a 33-19 lead.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Lakers, who face the Spurs
in San Antonio on Friday.
"These are good teams and we have a chance to compete and a chance
to upset somebody," D'Antoni said. "So why not try."
NOTES: Oklahoma City F Kevin Durant started the "Strong and Kind"
campaign, in which he has partnered with KIND, a healthy snack food
company, to promote his initiative. "I just want to let people know
that being kind is not a sign of weakness," Durant said. "That's how
I approach the game. So it's not a weakness to be a kind person.
Everybody always says nice guys finish last, but I'm trying to
change that." ... Los Angeles coach Mike D'Antoni was asked if G
Kobe Bryant's comments Wednesday about the organization would affect
the team. "You will have to ask the players," D'Antoni said. "I hope
not. We're going to try and do the best we can do. The guys know
their careers are at stake. So, I don't think so. But you will have
to ask each individual." ... Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti is
surprised with the amount of debate devoted to the topic of tanking
this season around the NBA. "The records of the teams in the bottom
four of the league are in line with those over the last 20 seasons,"
Presti told local media. "If anything, they are actually slightly
above those averages. I'm missing the epidemic on this, really. I
would hope we'd focus our attention on a lot of the great things our
players are doing and that the league has in place now. Maybe we can
get to the five-point shot in the offseason."
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
