Thunder vs. Lakers: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season
The Oklahoma City Thunder held on late for a 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers inside the Staples Center on Friday night.
Hounded by the Thunder's Andre Roberson, Kobe Bryant couldn't get a clean look in the final seconds, and his shot hit the front iron and bounced out.
Baxter Holmes of ESPN provided comments from Jeremy Lin, who spoke about the shot after the game:
Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin questioned whether Kobe should've gotten the final shot considering his off night:
Bryant struggled from start to finish, going 3-of-15 from the field for nine points. He did, however, add eight rebounds and eight assists.
Nick Young also failed to find a groove. While he knocked down four of his eight shots, scoring 10 points against the Thunder won't cut it. More importantly, Young wasn't on the court for most of the fourth quarter after getting ejected for a flagrant-2 foul.
On the other side, Russell Westbrook missed 13 field-goal attempts but still managed to score 31 points, dish out 10 assists and grab five boards. He had to do most of the heavy lifting with Kevin Durant out. According to ESPN Stats & Info, only LeBron James and Stephen Curry have more 30-point, 10-assist games:
Reggie Jackson did well to help fill the Durant void, scoring 25 points off the bench.
The big question coming into the game was whether the Thunder would be without Durant. The 2014 MVP injured his right ankle Thursday in the first half against the Golden State Warriors and didn't appear at all in the second half.
Durant injured the same foot he fractured a few months ago, which caused him to miss the first 17 games of this season.
ESPN.com's Royce Young reported that Durant would miss the Lakers game and get the ankle looked at again on Saturday:
"I was a little nervous," Durant said following the 114-109 defeat to the Warriors, per Young. "But I knew when I got up and started walking it felt good. So I just wanted to make sure with the X-rays everything was good."
Between Durant's absence and being on the second half of a back-to-back, Oklahoma City labored early in the game. The Lakers jumped out to a 17-7 lead a little over five-and-a-half minutes into the game after a three-pointer by Ronnie Price.
Price provided a major spark in the first quarter and was a big reason the Lakers held a 26-20 lead heading into the second. He nailed four three-pointers and scored 14 points, four below his career high, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com:
Offensively, Oklahoma City looked sluggish. The Lakers entered the game with the worst defensive rating in the league. Even without Durant, the Thunder only scoring 20 points in the first quarter was surprising.
Helin felt OKC needed to be more aggressive in the paint:
In the second quarter, the Thunder began finding their footing, in large part because Westbrook kept getting to the foul line. By halftime, the All-Star point guard attempted and made 13 free throws, scoring 21 points and dishing out five dimes.
While anybody can tell you Oklahoma City is better with Westbrook on the floor, ESPN Stats & Info provided the extent to which the Thunder were better with him in the first half:
Jackson also chipped in, recovering well from his 2-of-8 shooting night against the Warriors on Thursday. He was 5-of-9 from the floor in the first two quarters for 12 points.
Meanwhile, Price completely cooled off from his hot start, failing to score a single point in the second quarter. Bryant also failed to make much of an impact, going 1-of-6 for five points. The Thunder made sure to smother Kobe at every available opportunity:
Oklahoma City grabbed its first lead, 50-48, after a bucket by Serge Ibaka with 40 seconds left in the half. The Thunder led 52-50 heading into the locker room.
OKC added to the lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers 30-23. Anthony Morrow nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer, capping off a solid 12 minutes for the Thunder and giving them an 82-73 edge heading into the final frame.
As if overcoming a nine-point deficit weren't tough enough for Los Angeles, Young was ejected 37 seconds into the quarter after earning a flagrant-2 foul for using his forearm/elbow to contact Steven Adams' throat.
The Lakers, however, fought back, taking a 91-88 lead with 7:13 to go following a three from Wayne Ellington.
The two teams exchanged the lead for the majority of the final five minutes. Neither side could enjoy a long spell before going back down again.
An off-the-ball foul by Carlos Boozer on Jackson sent the Thunder guard to the foul line with the Lakers clinging to a 101-100 lead in the final 65 seconds. Jackson knocked down both free throws to again put the Thunder on top. Westbrook followed with a jumper to make it a three-point game, 104-101, with 38 seconds to go.
Everybody knew Bryant would get the ball on Los Angeles' final possession, and Roberson did extremely well to hang with him and prevent him from getting a wide-open look.
Oklahoma City gets a much-needed day off on Saturday before heading home. The Thunder play the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday and then welcome in the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
The Lakers take Saturday off before hitting the road and heading north to play the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
