Thunder-Lakers Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Jan 26 2013 3:14PM

No matter if the Los Angeles Lakers believe they're a better team after airing their personal grievances, they have a long way to go in order to catch the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Los Angeles looks to avoid a 10th loss in 12 meetings versus Oklahoma City as the league-best Thunder try to complete a winning six-game road trip Saturday.

The Lakers (18-25) held a players-only meeting prior to Wednesday's 106-93 loss at Memphis that apparently included heated outbursts from Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

They put their differences aside, though, and ended a four-game losing streak with a 102-84 home victory over Utah on Friday.

"After the Memphis game, we put the past behind us," Howard said. "We've got to sustain it for the rest of the season. We have to play together and play for each other."

Bryant, who reportedly admitted during the meeting he can be difficult to play with, seemed to take the team-first concept to heart. He attempted a season low-tying 10 shots, matched his season low with 14 points, dished out 14 assists - his most since notching 14 in a loss to Phoenix on Nov. 14, 2010 - and finished one rebound short of a triple-double.

"We're bonding together and we're communicating with each other very well," said Bryant, averaging 35.8 points versus the Thunder in the last five meetings, including the postseason. "You can't just sweep things under the rug all the time.

"It's not about showing we've turned the corner. It's about doing it."

Howard complemented Bryant's effort with 17 points and 13 rebounds after totaling 15 points and 13 boards over his previous three games while battling a nagging shoulder injury.

"Those are our two big guns," said Steve Nash, who scored 15 points, "and when they are symbiotic like that we are a special team."

Oklahoma City has looked like one all season, including victories in both meetings with the Lakers.

Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Russell Westbrook added 33 to help overcome 35 from Bryant in a 114-108 win Dec. 7. Durant scored 42 and Westbrook had 27 with 10 assists as Howard and Pau Gasol sat out with injuries in Oklahoma City's 116-101 road victory Jan. 11.

The Thunder (34-10) have won nine of the last 11 meetings with the Lakers, including a five-game victory in last season's Western Conference semifinals.

Oklahoma City enters this matchup having won eight of 10, including Friday's 105-95 victory at Sacramento to improve to 3-2 on their trip.

Durant is averaging 35.6 points on the trek, including a career-high 52 in an overtime win over Dallas in the opener. He was limited to 24 on Friday but attempted only 12 shots, making seven, and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Westbrook also scored well below his season average with 18 points, but he was the catalyst for the offense with a season-high 14 assists while also contributing on the defensive end.

"He's one of the best in the league," said Brooks, whose team averages a league-best 105.9 points and is among the leaders in points off turnovers (18.6 per game).

"We're an aggressive team. We play with force on the offensive end, but it always starts with our defense. When he defends, everybody defends and we're a good team on the offensive end."

Westbrook is averaging 27.5 points in the last four regular-season games versus the Lakers, while Durant is averaging 33.0 in the last six.

Kobe leads Lakers past Oklahoma City 105-96

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Jan 27 2013 7:58PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) After every plot twist and dramatic turn in the Los Angeles Lakers' soap opera of a season, perhaps their stars' latest identity switches shouldn't be all that shocking.

Kobe Bryant made all the big passes. Steve Nash scored important points down the stretch. Pau Gasol excelled off the bench as the new-look Lakers calmly maintained a fourth-quarter lead on the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bryant had 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, Nash added seven of his 17 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes, and the Lakers held off the NBA-leading Thunder 105-96 Sunday.

Gasol scored 16 points in a reserve role as the Lakers picked up the most impressive victory of their thoroughly unimpressive season, coolly maintaining a small lead down the stretch of their second straight win after a four-game skid.

With Bryant taking on a playmaking role, Nash stepping up his offensive game and Dwight Howard preaching togetherness, the 19-25 Lakers are cautiously optimistic their latest reboot will work - and even the Thunder were impressed.

"We're doing a good job right now of just being real with each other and holding each other accountable," said Bryant, who had 14 assists and fell one rebound shy of a triple-double in each of the past two games. "That makes a huge difference. I'm trying to evolve and find out what we need as a ballclub."

So is everybody else with the Lakers, who had lost nine of their last 11 against the defending Western Conference champion Thunder, including four of five in the clubs' second-round playoff series last spring and a blowout loss at Staples Center 16 days ago. The Lakers have strung together two solid games at home since a clear-the-air team meeting in Memphis last week.

"We've found something that works, that's for sure, and something we can feel good about," said Gasol, who played 36 minutes. "I think the way we are playing, we can be very successful."

Kevin Durant scored 35 points and Russell Westbrook had 17 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the road-weary Thunder, who finished their longest trip of the season at 3-3. Durant could sense the Lakers' desperation in their fourth-quarter effort.

"The whole arena felt that way," the three-time NBA scoring champion said. "They needed a win. It was a must-win for them, and they came out and performed well. They were hitting shots, and they were doing a good job of protecting the paint. We missed some good shots as well. As a group, we all have to do our roles better. Every individual has to play their role to a T for us to win games, but we'll be fine."

Bryant and Westbrook briefly tangled in the third quarter in an exchange that earned a technical foul for Kobe. Both All-Star guards entered the fourth quarter needing just one rebound for a triple-double, but neither got it.

Westbrook missed his first eight shots and 12 of his first 13 before finding a rhythm, but the Lakers didn't wilt down the stretch.

"The thought the execution at the end of the game by our team definitely could have been better," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "It's something that we're pretty good at, but a lot of that had to do with their team. They're a physical team, and they were moving us around a little bit towards the end."

Los Angeles took the lead with 6:15 to play on a jumper by Metta World Peace, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers nursed a small advantage in the final minutes, going up 101-95 on Gasol's driving layup with 1:09 to play.

Bryant then hit a tough 19-foot jumper with 37 seconds left, and Westbrook couldn't answer. Durant didn't have a field goal in the final 6:39, scoring just seven points in the fourth quarter of Oklahoma City's third loss in 11 games.

Oklahoma City routed the Lakers earlier this month, with Durant scoring 42 points and Westbrook adding 27 while Los Angeles played without Howard and Gasol.

Howard had just eight points and 10 rebounds this time out while fighting foul trouble and missing eight of his 10 free throws. Bryant and Nash led a passionate effort by the Lakers, whose season-long missteps and embarrassments have left them well out of the playoff picture heading into the second half of the season.

"I'm very excited to see our progress," Howard said. "We're going to continue to work, continue to talk to each other. The biggest difference is we're holding each other accountable for everything. We had a great talk in Memphis, and it's carried over."

NOTES: The clubs conclude their season series in Oklahoma City on March 5. ... Lakers owner Jerry Buss celebrated his 79th birthday. The Basketball Hall of Famer hasn't attended a game this season while dealing with health concerns. ... Derek Fisher, the five-time champion Lakers guard who finished last season with the Thunder, watched from a courtside seat. Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Alessandro Nivola, Horace Grant and baseball stars Matt Kemp, Vernon Wells and Michael Young also sat courtside.

Notebook: Lakers 105, Thunder 96

Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:53 PM - Updated Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:53 PM

THE FACTS: The same Lakers took the floor Sunday afternoon against the visiting Thunder, the same team that managed just 17 victories in the first 42 games this season. But for the second straight game, L.A. carried a new attitude into Staples Center and Kobe Bryant brought a different strategy. The 17-year veteran continued his sudden metamorphosis from elite scorer to Steve Nash-like facilitator, a transformation that might be just what the Lakers needed the last three months. Bryant finished with 21 points and, for the second straight game, racked up a season-high 14 assists while coming up one rebound short of a triple-double. All those numbers factored into the 105-96 victory against the No. 1 team in the West, the most significant win of the season for the Lakers.

QUOTABLE: "Kobe starts it. Sharing the ball, he hasn't forced a shot. He's moving the ball. He's playing great defense. It starts with him, but then everybody else is contributing."

-- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni.

THE STAT: Bryant recorded at least 14 assists in back to back games for first time since December 2002. He also finished with more assists than shot attempts (12) for just the fifth time in his career when playing at least 30 minutes and the first time in back-to-back games.

TURNING POINT: The Thunder took their final lead, 87-86, on a 3-pointer by Kevin Durant with 6:37 remaining in the game. Lakers forward Metta World Peace made a bank shot on the other end, just as teammate Dwight Howard was picking up his fifth foul while jockeying for rebounding position with Nick Collison. Howard went to the bench and in came Earl Clark, who scored off a pass from Bryant to push the lead to three. Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook then tried a baseline dunk but the ball sailed into the stands. He argued that he was fouled on the play by Pau Gasol, drawing a technical foul. Nash made the free throw and Bryant followed with a 22-footer on the ensuing possession to cap the 7-0 run and extend L.A.'s lead to 93-87 with 5:05 left. The Thunder never brought it back to a one-possession game.

HOT: Even though it's not his preference, Gasol continues to thrive in a reserve role. He came off the bench for the sixth straight game since returning from a five-game absence because of a concussion and finished with 16 points. He's scored in double figures every game since coming off the bench. About the only thing he didn't have going for him against the Thunder was his free-throw shooting. He shot 2-for-6 from the line.

QUOTABLE II: "Pau has been great and I think he feels good about what he has been doing."

--D'Antoni.

NOT: Westbrook missed his first eight field-goal attempts and 12 of 13 before eventually finishing with 17 points on 6-for-22 shooting. Like Bryant, he also came up one rebound shot of a triple-double, finishing with 13 assists and nine rebounds. Howard would have felt the wrath had the Lakers not held on to win. He shot 2-for-10 from the free-throw line, including a stretch of six consecutive misses in the second quarter. He didn't help his cause by committing his third and fourth fouls on back-to-back possessions early in the third quarter and his fifth midway through the fourth. He finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

QUOTABLE III: "[Westbrook] didn't shoot the ball well, nor did [Kevin Durant], and they're going to make those shots."
-- Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks.

GOOD MOVE: Lakers coach D'Antoni assigned Bryant to guard Westbrook at the outset of the game and his experience alone appeared to be enough to throw Westbrook off his game.

BAD MOVE: Thunder backup guard Kevin Martin may have provided the perfect counterweight to Westbrook's off-night, but he committed his second and third fouls in the opening minute of the second quarter and went to the bench for the rest of the half. Still, the team's third-leading scorer was fresh and ready to close out the game, but Oklahoma City coach Brooks elected to sub him out for Thabo Sefolosha with 3:38 remaining and the Thunder trailing by six points. Oklahoma City made just one field goal the rest of the way.

NOTABLE: World Peace finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double since start of 2010-11 season. ... The Lakers are 13-3 this season when Bryant takes 19 field-goal attempts or less, 6-22 when he takes 20 or more. ... Durant finished with 35 points on 10-for-26 shooting but matched his season-low with just two rebounds. Durant and Bryant are tied for the league lead with 21 games of 30 or more points this season. ... The Thunder finished 3-3 on their season-long six-game road trip.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Tuesday vs. New Orleans, Wednesday @ Phoenix, Friday @ Minnesota. For the Thunder, Thursday vs. Memphis, Saturday @ Cleveland, Monday vs. Dallas.

• Thunder: Lamb, Orton
• Lakers: Blake, Hill

• Thunder: Westbrook
• Lakers: Bryant

• Lead Changes: 18
• Times Tied: 16

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #16 David Guthrie, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 18997
• Duration: 2:29