After last night's victory on the road against the Mavericks, the Lakers look to get another road win in Oklahoma City tonight. The Lakers are not the same team that we've seen in the last few years. They lack a consistent point guard, and depth on the bench which they've been known for with Phil Jackson coaching. Last night, the Lakers got to taste a little revenge getting the win over the Mavericks after getting swept by the champs last year in the post season. Pau Gasol lead the scoring with 24 points, Bynum had a double double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant only 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists which was enough to get the win. Oklahoma City on the other hand, just ran through the Boston Celtics last night with a few scares in between. Russell Westbrook lead the OKC Thunder with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Kevin Durant had 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to help the Thunder cruise (119-104.) The Lakers are still trying to find their identity under Mike Brown and are relying on the Lakers who have been under certain game situations under Phil Jackson. With Pau Gasol fighting the thoughts of being traded, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher aging, and Ron Artest who is now Metta World-Peace, the Lakers struggle to win on the road. Not only that, some of the Lakers including Ron Artest have been criticizing Mike Brown's coaching ability. With all that drama in the Lakers' locker room and the OKC Thunder looking to win their 12th straight at home, I see the Thunder easily covering this 6 point spread. I'm not doubting the Lakers, but I'm giving credit to the Thunder.
Result: When the Lakers ended the 1st quarter, it was 23-19 and the Lakers almost looked like they've traveled back a few years, putting aside the fact that it's a whole new roster. It was too good to be true, and the young legs of the Thunder gained a 3 point lead (46-43) at half. It was all OKC Thunder in the second half outscoring the Lakers 54-42 with a final score of 100-85. Kobe shot 7/24 from the field scoring 24, Bynum had a lackluster performance shooting 5/15 and Pau Gasol lead the way for the Lakers scoring 22, getting 9 boards and shooting 9/14 from the field. When I find the Lakers favored in a game, the post presence of Gasol and Bynum are a huge factor. Today they went up against two quality post players in Ibaka and Perkins, and it was a big factor in deciding the game. Between the two Thunder post players, they scored 14 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and had 5 blocks. Now to the more prominent Thunder duo, Westbrook and Durant combined scored 52 points with Durant leading the way scoring 33. The Thunder are a young, and hungry team which was too much for the Lakers to handle.
5-1
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