Oklahoma City Thunder finish Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5; Cruise straight into the Western Conference Finals – NBA Recap
The Oklahoma City Thunder rallied in the third quarter to go on a 14-3 run and then held on to the lead to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-90 in game 5 of the Western Conference Semi Finals.
The Thunder clinched the series 4-1 with the win, eliminating the Lakers in the process. They will now open the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio against the 4 time champion, the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.
Oklahoma City were ousted by the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s Western Conference Finals but look to reach the NBA Finals this year. This is the first time the Thunder have reached the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive
years since 1978-1980.
"We know that's the most important time of the game, especially in a tight game. I think that we kept our composure throughout the fourth, and our poise and we made plays” said Kevin Durant of the Thunder.
Russell Westbrook scored a team high 28 points and Kevin Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder cruised to victory after shifting gears in the 2nd half. Kobe Bryant had 42 points, his 13th playoff
game with 40 points or more, but did not get much help from the rest of the roster and seemed desperate on court, trying to make the plays all by himself in the final quarter.
The Lakers led 51-50 with 1:17 left in the first half when Thabo Sefolosha was fouled by Metta World Peace while attempting a layup. The referee called a flagrant on World Peace, and gave a technical to Bryant for arguing. This
gave the Thunder 4 free throw attempts, which they sank to give them a 54-51 lead at halftime.
Trailing the Lakers 66-70 with 5:27 left in the third quarter, Russell Westbrook ignited the Thunder, who went on a 17-7 run to close the quarter. Westbrook had 10 points in the run, including two three point plays that gave the
Thunder the lead.
The Thunder led 83-77 at the close of the third period. They then started the final period with a 10-0 run, including back to back three point shots by Durant to extend their lead to 93-77. The Lakers missed their first three
field goal attempts and turned the ball over twice to open the final period.
They struggled throughout the period, missing shots and failing to make plays. Bryant was also unable to make anything happen as his team seemed disheartened and lost. The Lakers managed only 13 points in the 4th quarter,
while the Thunder scored 23. They held their lead throughout the final period and won 106-90.
"I just tried to throw it to the rim and luckily it went in. That kind of sparked us, and everybody else kept it going from there" said Westbrook regarding his amazing three point play.
Westbrook was 12 of 25 from the field for his 28 points and James Harden added another valuable 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the Thunder. Durant had 25 off a 9 of 21 shooting night while Kendrick Perkins had 6 points
and 11 rebounds.
Bryant was 18 of 33 from the field for his 42 points. World Peace had 11 points and Pau Gasol finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds, though he was 5 of 14 from the field.
The Thunder shot 46.7% from the field while the Lakers were also effective, shooting 45.3%. However, Oklahoma City outnumbered the Lakers 51-35 in rebounds and 20-12 in assists.
"We're asking our bigs to do a lot but I know for sure we could have gotten more scoring from those two guys in the offensive rebounding category ... and we could have gotten more from our bench” said Lakers coach Mike Brown after
the game.
The Lakers now look at a long summer ahead which would involve a great deal of team building and tough decisions on the future of Andrew Bynum. The Thunder will travel to the West Finals for the 2nd year in a row to
face the mighty Spurs, who have won all 8 games of their playoffs and are on an 18 game winning streak, stretching back into the regular season.
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