Lakers-Thunder Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Feb 23 2012 2:08AM

Though the Los Angeles Lakers have played well of late, it still might not be enough to cool off the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tied for the best record in the NBA, the Thunder look to extend their home winning streak to 12 games Thursday night when they face the Lakers for the first time this season.

Los Angeles (20-13) won its second straight and fifth in six games, 96-91 at Dallas on Wednesday. The Lakers also have won three of five on the road, but visit an Oklahoma City team that's 14-1 at home.

Tied with Miami for the NBA's best record, the Thunder (26-7) have averaged 107.9 points on 50.5 percent shooting during an 11-game home winning streak that followed a 103-93 loss to Portland on Jan. 3. The Thunder last won 12 straight at home twice during the 1997-98 season when based in Seattle.

The Lakers have won their last two visits to Oklahoma City, including playoffs, but had their four-game overall winning streak against the Thunder snapped with a 120-106 home loss April 10.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points in that contest and Russell Westbrook added 26 for the Thunder. Durant has averaged 24.8 points in 20 career regular and postseason games against the Lakers. Westbrook, meanwhile, averaged 26.7 with 8.3 assists while the Thunder dropped two of three to Los Angeles in 2010-11.

Westbrook scored 31 while Durant added 28, nine rebounds and six assists as the Thunder used a 30-3 first-half run en route to a 119-104 win over Boston on Wednesday. Oklahoma City shot 50.0 percent from the field, including 9 of 19 from 3-point range.

"When a guy is open you have to hit him and you have to knock down your shots," reserve Royal Ivey told the Thunder's official website. "Having that continuity is great with this group of guys. We have shooters on this team, so when you find an open guy, you're hoping that guy knocks the shot down."

Los Angeles shot 46.1 percent against the reigning NBA champion Mavericks, but stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol each missed a pair of free throws with less than 40 seconds left to allow Dallas to hang around. The Lakers were an ugly 18 of 31 from the free-throw line for the night.

"(This win) shows we're on the same page and we've got a lot of character," Gasol said.

Bryant averaged 32.0 points on 50.7 percent shooting in the previous three games, but went 4 of 15 from the floor and finished with 15 points Wednesday. He's averaged 26.7 in 20 regular season and playoff games against the Thunder since Durant entered the league in 2007-08.

Gasol had 24 with nine rebounds while Andrew Bynum added 19 and 14 boards Wednesday to help the Lakers improve to 6-11 away from Staples Center.

This was a strong performance for Gasol during a week in which Bryant stood behind his teammate by calling out the Lakers' organization for their reported indecision on whether or not to trade the 7-footer.

"I just try to put everything behind me," Gasol said. "I just try to play the game. I try to play aggressive.

Though Gasol has averaged 18.3 points overall during his career against the Thunder franchise, he's put up 13.8 per contest in four road games since the team moved to Oklahoma City.

Thunder top Lakers 100-85, tie Miami as NBA's best

By JEFF LATZKE
Posted Feb 24 2012 1:53AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) It's not so easy any more for the Los Angeles Lakers to push around the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points, Russell Westbrook added 19 and the Thunder beat the Lakers 100-85 Thursday night to head into the All-Star break tied for the league's best record.

The Thunder won their 12th straight home game and denied Los Angeles the chance to head into the midseason break with back-to-back statement wins on the road. The Lakers had won at defending NBA champion Dallas a night earlier and were trying to follow it by knocking off the other half of last year's West finals.

"It's a regular game for us," Durant said, downplaying any significance of a midseason victory.

"Of course, we respect those guys and they're champions and they've won multiple rings but it's another game for us. You're just trying to get better every single day."

Oklahoma City and Miami both have NBA-leading 27-7 records at the break. The Lakers are 20-14 and sitting in fifth place in the West.

"It's cool that we're winning games but we can't be complacent," Durant said.

"We've been on a good roll lately. We've got to just keep working hard. It's not over yet. We're glad we're going into the break with some wins but I think it's important for us to come out of the break with some energy and some momentum."

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points but went 7 for 24 from the field for Los Angeles. Pau Gasol had 22 points and nine rebounds.

The Thunder pulled away in the second half to win their second in a row against the Lakers, who won eight of the teams' previous nine regular-season meetings and knocked Oklahoma City out of the 2010 playoffs in the first round.

"They did a great job. They took advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves, jumped out to a good cushion and we could never get the game back in balance," Bryant said.

The Lakers, once able to use their size advantage against Oklahoma City, struggled to get those same inside baskets against the remade Thunder interior of NBA blocks leader Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins.

Center Andrew Bynum started out 2 for 12 before finally hitting three in a row midway through the fourth quarter. His two-handed slam got the Lakers within 81-74 with 7 minutes remaining, only for Oklahoma City to come right back by scoring the next seven points on a three-point play by Westbrook and dunks by Harden and Perkins.

Los Angeles didn't get any closer than nine after that.

"Going into this game, we really wanted to keep them out of the paint, keep them away from the basket and rebound the shot," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Just give them one shot - one and done, and get out and run."

Harden scored 16 and Ibaka added 11 points and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which limited L.A. to 39 percent shooting while making 47 percent of its own shots.

"We have to work too hard to get points going up against defenses that are set and double-teams all the time," Bryant said. "Having a little bit more movement, it'll free Andrew up, free Pau up, free myself up to where I don't have to work against two guys all the time."

Bryant said he didn't have any expectations for where the Lakers would be at the midpoint of their first season under Mike Brown and considered himself "neutral" about their play so far.

He had made waves recently by criticizing management about leaving Gasol to wonder whether he'd be traded, but general manager Mitch Kupchak didn't back down.

"Just trucking along," Bryant said. "As you can see, we still have things we have to figure out about how we're going to play and how we're going to execute.

"It's going to take time, especially in this type of season when we don't have any practice time."

The Thunder emerged ahead 46-43 after a closely contested first half, with Westbrook connecting on a 3-pointer from the left wing with 0.8 seconds left and Durant stealing Bynum's inbounds pass along the left baseline before hitting a jumper before the buzzer.

Bynum and World Peace, his intended target, walked off the court discussing what went wrong.

The Lakers would never lead again.

Durant converted a three-point play and Daequan Cook hit a 3-pointer during a burst of eight straight points for Oklahoma City midway through the third quarter, and the lead stretched to 71-58 when Cook followed Harden's slam by hitting a right wing jumper with 1:43 left in the period.

"We didn't close the half off well at all, and then the third quarter they were more playing their game and we were making it a little easy for them by not moving the ball, by the ball getting stuck on one side of the floor and settling for jumpers," Gasol said.

"They just came out and ran. That's what they do."

NOTES: After looking back at the video, Brown said he thought a foul by Dallas' Brendan Haywood on Gasol in the final minute Wednesday should have been a flagrant foul. "I'm sure the league has seen it and I'm sure that they'll take whatever action they think is necessary for it. That definitely was not just a normal foul or a regular foul," Brown said. ... Durant was a late addition to the 3-Point Contest at the All-Star game, giving him a chance at redemption after last year's last-place effort in which he scored only six of a possible 30 points. "His last year's performance was pathetic. ... Right now, he needs coaching," Brooks said. We need to bring back the H-O-R-S-E contest so he can bring something home." Durant won the H-O-R-S-E contest in 2009 and 2010. ... Perkins is just two technical fouls away from a one-game suspension, with 11 through 34 games. "It's going to be very difficult for Perk to not engage in any physical play on the court that referees deem that's a little excessive but he has to," Brooks said.

Notebook: Thunder 100, Lakers 85

Posted Friday February 24, 2012 1:35AM

By Randy Renner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder will go rolling into the All-Star break riding a five-game winning streak after drilling the Los Angeles Lakers 100-85 behind 33 points from Kevin Durant. The three-time All-Star was 12-for-22, handed out six assists, grabbed four rebounds, picked up three steals and blocked a shot. Despite his heroics, it was the Thunder's defense, especially their bigs, who continually frustrated the Lakers. Serge Ibaka pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked three shots, Kendrick Perkins had nine boards and two blocks and the OKC defense held the Lakers to just 38.5 percent shooting.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant again struggled with his shot going just 7-for-24, he led the Lakers though with 24 points, 10 of those coming at the free throw line. L.A. center Andrew Bynum had 14 points but it took him 15 shots to get there. He also pulled down 12 rebounds. Pau Gasol had about the best night of any Laker with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting and nine rebounds.

Oklahoma City had three more players in double figures, Russell Westbrook had 19, James Harden added 16 and Ibaka had 11.

QUOTABLE: "It was a great game for us, we played with a lot of physical and mental toughness. Our bigs gave us everything they had. Perk [Kendrick Perkins] and Serge [Ibaka] did a terrific job. They didn't allow them to get easy shots."
-- Thunder coach Scott Brooks

THE STAT: In the first quarter the Lakers were 10-for-20 and Oklahoma City was just 7-for-19 (36.8 percent). In the second and third quarters things changed. The Thunder were 22-for-37 (59.5 percent) and the Lakers were just 12-for-40 (30 percent).

QUOTABLE II: "Gotta give credit to the opponent. They're a really good team. We didn't give ourselves a chance."
-- Lakers guard Derek Fisher

TURNING POINT: In the second and third quarters the Lakers managed to score 20 and 19 points while OKC put 27 on the board in each stanza. That gave the Thunder an 11 point lead going into the final 12 minutes and the Lakers could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE III: "Perk loves to be tough, loves to be physical and we need him to be that way. He's changed our team."
-- Scott Brooks on the quality of his team's defensive play. Since Perkins joined the team last season Oklahoma City is 40-11 in the games he's started.

HOT: The Lakers finished the first quarter 10-for-20 (50 percent)...Thunder forward Serge Ibaka had four points, five rebounds and a block in the first eight minutes of the game...OKC's Kevin Durant was 7-for-12 (20 points) in the first half...L.A.'s Pau Gasol was 5-for-7 (13 points) in the first half...In the second half Durant and James Harden were a combined 9-for-16.

NOT: Oklahoma City was just 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) at the 4:30 mark in the first quarter and finished the first at 36.8 percent (7-for-19...Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was just 4-for-13 in the first half but he did have 10 points...In the second half Bryant and Andrew Bynum were a combined 6-for-20.

QUOTABLE IV: "We kinda played into their hands at times and then we played (bad) and got beat."
-- Lakers center Andrew Bynum

INSIDE THE ARENA: A little bit of Hollywood inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, actor Rob Lowe sat courtside as a guest of a member of the Thunder ownership group. Former NBA star Desmond Mason, now a Oklahoma City businessman was also courtside along with University of Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops.

GOOD MOVE: Thunder sixth man James Harden hounded Lakers guard Kobe Bryant into a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock winded down. Bryant airballed the shot into the hands of Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who fired an outlet pass down to Harden for a layup.

BAD MOVE: Midway through the second quarter, Harden led a fast break then drove into the lane but instead of taking the shot himself he flipped a no-look, over-the-back pass toward Durant, who couldn't catch it and the ball ended up in Laker hands.

BAD MOVE, TOO: With just 0.8 of a second left in the first half, Lakers center Andrew Bynum tried to fire a length of the court inbound pass but didn't see a man open so he tried to just toss the ball to Derek Fisher. But Durant stepped in front to intercept the pass and fired up a shot that was ruled good after an officials review. The play increased a 44-43 Thunder lead to 46-41 going into halftime.

NOTABLE: Oklahoma City has now won 12 straight games at home which ties a franchise record...At 27-7 Oklahoma City continues atop the Western Conference and also will go into the break tied with Miami for the best record in the NBA.

QUOTABLE V: "It's cool that we have the record we do but we can't be complacent, it's not over yet. We have to come out of the break with some momentum."
-- Thunder forward Kevin Durant on his team's 27-7 first half.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Wednesday vs. Minnesota, March 2nd vs. Sacramento, March 4th vs. Miami. For the Thunder, Wednesday @ Philadelphia, March 1st @ Orlando, March 3rd @ Atlanta.

• Lakers: Ebanks
• Thunder: Maynor, Sefolosha

• Lakers: World Peace
• Thunder: Reid

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #47 Bennie Adams, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 18203
• Duration: 2:28