Final
Westbrook, Thunder sneak past Lakers
Dec 20, 2014 - 7:14 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook scored 31 points with 10 assists and five rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.Reggie Jackson deposited 25 points, Serge Ibaka netted 16 points with seven rebounds and five blocks and Andre Roberson added 10 points for the Thunder, who played without Kevin Durant due to a sprained right ankle.
Durant left Thursday's loss to the Warriors after sustaining the sprain late in the first half.
Oklahoma City has won eight of its last nine games.
"This was a good win for us," said Westbrook. "We came out with a good mindset and got the win. We took what the defense gave us and knocked down the shots."
Ed Davis paced the Lakers with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Ronnie Price and Carlos Boozer chipped in with 14 points apiece.
Los Angeles has lost two straight on the heels of a three-game winning streak.
Kobe Bryant finished with a season low-tying nine points on 3-for-15 shooting. He did add a team-high eight assists with eight rebounds.
"Obviously we fouled then way too many times," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "They got to the free throw line 29 times. Our margin of error is not big enough to do that to give up 29 free throws and give up 11 offensive rebounds."
Boozer's layup put the Lakers up 101-100 with two minutes to play, then Jackson hit a pair of free throws less than a minute later and Westbrook knocked down a jumper to put the Thunder up three with 38.2 seconds left.
Jeremy Lin's jumper cut the deficit to one prior to Westbrook missing from the top of the key to give Los Angeles a chance at the win.
Out of a timeout, Bryant received the inbound pass, dribbled to the elbow and pump-faked to get Roberson in the air, but Roberson stood tall and Bryant came up short on the potential-winning basket.
"We were able to get some stops," said Jackson. "We battled to the final zeros and found a way to win."
The Lakers led 26-20 after the first quarter and the Thunder didn't grab their first lead until late in the second.
Bryant knocked down his first field goal of the half with 1:54 remaining in the second to give Los Angeles a 48-44 lead. Oklahoma City then ended the half on an 8-2 run to take a 52-50 lead into the break.
Ibaka's dunk off a quick feed from Westbrook gave the visitors their first advantage with under a minute left before each team traded a basket in the closing seconds.
Boozer's layup tied the game at 70-70 with over two minutes left in the half. Roberson, Jackson and Anthony Morrow each hit 3-pointers during a 12-3 surge to end the frame and help the Thunder to an 82-73 lead entering the fourth.
Los Angeles trailed by nine when Wayne Ellington hit two 3s, the last of which capped a 14-2 run to give the Lakers a 91-88 edge with 7:13 to play in the game.
Game Notes
Roberson has scored posted double-digit scoring outings in two straight games. He hadn't scored in double digits in his career prior to Thursday's loss to Golden State ... OKC has won seven of its last nine with LA ... Nick Young, who scored 10 points off the bench, was ejected after receiving a Flagrant-2 foul because of elbowing Steven Adams repeatedly in the throat early in the fourth ... Adams had a team-high 10 rebounds in the win ... The Lakers shot 48.2 percent from the floor.
- 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
Related News
- Lakers Reportedly Willing to Explore Adding Bronny James Feb 15
- Warriors Reportedly Attempted to Trade for LeBron James Feb 14
- Shaquille O’Neal To Be First To Have Jersey Retired by Magic Jan 4
- The Oklahoma City Thunder Have Arrived Jan 3
- LeBron James Has Been At His Best for Many Birthdays Dec 29
- The Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama Rivalry Has Started Early Dec 28
- Lakers show potential vs. Celtics, but work still to be done Dec 25
- Celtics handle Lakers despite Anthony Davis’ strong showing Dec 25
- Lakers vs. Celtics Preview and Game Thread: Rivalry renewed in Christmas tradition Dec 24
- Darvin Ham discusses starting lineup change after win vs. Thunder Dec 24
- Players Grades: Lakers vs. Thunder Dec 24
- LeBron James dominates as Lakers beat Thunder on road Dec 23