Final
Durant hopes ankle is ready for Lakers
Dec 19, 2014 - 3:02 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Will the Oklahoma City Thunder have reigning MVP Kevin Durant in the lineup Friday night when they stop by Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Lakers?Durant scored 30 points in the first half of Thursday night's loss to the Golden State Warriors, but didn't play in the second after suffering a sprained right ankle just before halftime.
The Thunder were 7-1 over their last eight games with Durant in the lineup. The reigning MVP missed the first 17 games of the season following foot surgery.
"I was a little nervous but I knew when I stood up and started walking it felt good," Durant said. "I'll take it a day at a time. Tomorrow morning I'll see how it reacts and go from there."
Golden State prevailed, 114-109.
Russell Westbrook picked up some of the slack, netting 33 points with eight assists but shooting just 11-for-30 from the field. Serge Ibaka finished with 12 points and Andre Roberson chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Thunder head home for a Sunday tilt against the New Orleans Pelicans, then host the Portland Trail Blazers. On Christmas Day, OKC will face the defending champion Spurs in San Antonio.
The Lakers are back in Los Angeles after a successful 2-1 road trip.
During that time Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring list in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. One night later, the Lakers fell to the Indiana Pacers, 110-91.
The Lakers scored the final six points of the second quarter. The Pacers, who had lost eight straight games, still led by 33 at halftime.
C.J. Miles' layup at 2:22 of the first quarter gave the Pacers a 26-4 lead. Los Angeles scored 11 points in the final two minutes of the period and still trailed 34-15.
The second quarter went much like the first, with a 14-2 Indiana run pushing the margin to 48-17 five minutes before halftime. The Pacers led by 39 points when Bryant and Wesley Johnson hit consecutive 3s to send the two teams into halftime.
"They came out and just jumped on us," Lakers head coach Byron Scott said. "They have a good team."
Bryant shot 3-for-13, the bench was 2-for-19 and the Lakers stumbled to a 16.3 percent shooting performance over the first 24 minutes. Bryant put up 21 points on 8-for-26 shooting. Nick Young netted a more efficient 18 points on 12 shots and Carlos Boozer went for 13 and 10 boards.
The Thunder have won six of their last eight encounters with the Lakers. The two teams have split the previous eight regular-season games at the Staples Center.
- OKLAHOMA CITY: 104
LOS ANGELES: 103
Final
Dec 20 1:00 AM - OKLAHOMA CITY: 82
LOS ANGELES: 73
End of 3rd
Dec 20 12:23 AM - OKLAHOMA CITY: 52
LOS ANGELES: 50
Halftime
Dec 19 11:39 PM - OKLAHOMA CITY: 20
LOS ANGELES: 26
End of 1st
Dec 19 11:04 PM - OKLAHOMA CITY: 0
LOS ANGELES: 0
1st Quarter - 11:44
Dec 19 10:43 PM
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