Oklahoma City Thunder steal 103 – 100 win over Los Angeles Lakers with late thrust – NBA Playoffs Recap - Part 2
The Los Angeles Lakers had an 11 – 5 burst to start of the second period, taking a double digit lead; 40 – 29. The Oklahoma City Thunder brought the deficit back into single digits on multiple occasions as the quarter progressed but the Lakers found away
to extend it again and ended the segment up at 56 – 46.
Things did not change much after the interval. An intense contest ensued as the Thunder tried to fight their way back into the game and the Lakers kept them at an arm’s length. The 3rd frame ended with Los Angeles still ahead, 80 – 71.
Oklahoma City failed to make any inroads in the earlier part of the final frame. They did however started to find some rhythm as it progressed and a Russell Westbrook jumper cut the Lakers lead to 7 points, 92 – 85, part of a 9 – 2 run that ended with the
score at 94 – 90.
It was halted by a defiant Kobe Bryant, who nailed a fade away, making it 96 – 90, just 4:29 on the clock. An 8 – 0 run by the Thunder followed though, with Kevin Durant making a crucial jumper to draw level at 96 – 96 and Kendrick Perkins putting OKC ahead,
98 – 96.
Kobe drew level for Los Angeles again but when Durant nailed a 3 – pointer from deep, the crowd sensed the game was gone. Kobe missed his 3 and OKC capitalized, stealing the 103 – 100 win.
Lakers head coach Mike Brown was disappointed by the defensive effort of his side, especially down the stretch.
"We can talk about us offensively, because we had some struggles," Lakers coach Brown said. "But it comes down to those guys scoring 32 points in the fourth quarter, and I thought they did that very easily. That's the most disappointing thing."
Kobe Bryant was brilliant throughout the night and finished with game high 38 points. He was though bitterly disappointed, and demanded more out of teammates after the game, singling out Pau Gasol, who had an ill-advised turnover at the end.
"Pau has got to be more aggressive," Bryant said of Gasol. "He's got to be aggressive, got to shoot the ball, drive to the basket, and he will next game. ... (The turnover was) just a bad read on Pau's part. It happens."
Pau Gasol had 10 points and 5 rebounds, as well as 3 turnovers. Metta World Peace played well, scoring 14 points and grabbing 6 rebounds for Los Angeles. Andrew Bynum was a force with 18 points and 9 rebounds.
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