LAKERS -at- THUNDER - 4/30 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Thunder Dome Burns... You return to the jungle and the glowing dome that rises from the treetops. It was here where the Horsemen were thoroughly thrashed, where some questioned themselves and where they briefly gave their opponent confidence and life.

A sea of wild blue bodies hangs from the dome walls, and they scream like Thunder. You climb over bodies and up the side of the dome until you can finally squeeze in. Below you, the Horsemen seem outnumbered in every way.

The fight begins and one thing becomes quickly apparent -- the Horsemen, the Death Riders, all of them are into this battle. They aren't going to roll over. Neither is their opponent.

Death seems to be slaying all comers, and when he rests, others have his back. And it just so as he goes for the kill, but misses.

It is The Spaniard who strikes the death blow. He lets loose with a scream before turning to the crowd. "Thunder Dome! You shall burn tonight." Four bells chime in the distance as The Spaniard lights a torch.

Hours later, you stand at the foot of a pile of glowing red coals and smoldering ashes. The Horsemen warm themselves on the smoking remains of the structure. Inside the ashes, you spot a familiar but charred sign. You fish it out with a stick. It now just reads just "Closed." Below it, DancingBarry has carved a message for you:

"The Horsemen were here. They overcame their struggles in a hostile environment with a collective effort. Nothing came easy for them, but they will be much better for it.

I will continue to track them..."

With a possible game seven hanging in the balance, Kobe Bryant dribbled down the clock trailing by a point. He attacked to his right and missed a baseline jumper. Pau Gasol wasn't through playing. He crashed the glass and put back in the miss with 0.5 left to give the Lakers a 95-94 lead and a series victory over the Thunder.

It was Pau's 18th board and only points of the second half, but no play was bigger in this series. The size advantage the Lakers held over the Thunder was their eventual undoing.

The Lakers lost the last three times in Oklahoma, taking a beating in two of those games. With the prospects of an elimination game if they return home, every Laker stepped up to contribute. Whether it was Kobe leading the charge, Pau boarding, Ron locking down or the entire bench providing some kind of important production, they fought through the crowd, whistles and even some new lineups.

The team was a dull weapon heading into this series. They faded with injuries and lost their killer instinct to close the regular season. The Thunder forced them to sharpen their game. "I think it will help us focus," Phil said after the win.

Next up, the Utah Jazz.


Kobe -- -- Kobe looked more like...Kobe. He was hitting a range of shots, from threes, midrange, drives and even some FTs. There were times in this game when the Thunder were trying to impose their will behind the roaring crowd and Kobe helped hold the line with big plays. His three ball looked strong and his handle seemed steady. Defensively, he started on Westbrook. Kobe said the biggest thing to carry over in this game was the transition D. They did a very good job limiting Westbrook again in those sequences. Unfortunately, Fish was being picked on elsewhere and Phil took Kobe off Westbrook for some stretches. Still, Westbrook's efficiency was reduced to 7-20 shooting, which was key. Late in the third, Kobe seemed to be catching fire and had the killer instinct game face on. A couple cheap whistles and he was sidelined. Phil kept him there forever, 8 minutes. "I was a little disappointed that he lost touch with the game there when he sat on the bench there at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth." He gave Kobe some praise for his offense. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 12-25 shooting (3-4 from three, 5-7 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: His turnaround was blocked on his first attempt. He sank a turnaround jumper at the shotclock buzzer for the first Laker score. He missed an early offense pull-up jumper (not what they want). He missed a hanging drive with contact. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs on a tough fade, he made both. He was tapped on a layup off a nice drive. He attacked in transition and scored a lefty layup around a couple defenders. Bad pumping fade with Shannon Brown wide open (make the pass, get it back). He attacked off the high screen, took contact on Collison and hit the And-1, 9-footer in the lane, he made the FT. He was blocked from behind on a pull-up, he got it back and missed a layup on a drive. He didn't hit anything on a 80-footer at the buzzer (looked like they tallied that as a shot). He was 3-11 in the first for 9 points. (Westbrook had 8 points on 4-6 shooting.) He curled in the lane, took the pass and scored a layup with his left. He fouled Ibaka on a block attempt from behind. He hit Pau with an interior bounce pass for a dunk. He was hit on a loose ball with no call and he lost the ball, bad no-call. He iso'd, up-faked at the elbow and took contact on Ibaka for FTs, he made one. He got caught in the air and threw a pass away. Same thing next time down, jump pass, turnover, foul the other way. He sank a tough hanging jumper on our final possession. He had 14 points on 5-13 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-5 from the line), 3 assists and 3 turnovers. Second Half: He drained a three out of a timeout. He attacked off the three line next time down and drew FTs, he made one. We got back his miss and somehow he hit a hanging turnaround jumper. Between the legs multiples times, he attacked, spun and scored the lefty layup. He missed a tough iso fallaway from the corner with the shotclock low. He lost the handle on a pass, dunk the other way. He attacked the lane, hung and hit a fallaway. He drained a three over Durant. He was fouled on a turnaround with no call and missed. He sank a three from the top of the arc (he's in kill mode). He quickly picked up his third and fourth fouls late in the third (both touch fouls, he didn't agree on the first one). The whistle was the best defense. After a long 8-minute rest from the third to fourth quarter, he came back in and missed a tough fallaway. He drained a difficult sideline jumper out of a timeout. He missed a leaner, looked fouled coming off the screen to add to the difficulty. No timeout, he brought the ball up court, no screen, he attacked Westbrook on iso and missed a great look on the baseline over him. Pau put it back in. "That was such an easly look for me. It felt good. I'm just so happy Pau continued to play and got the offensive rebound," Kobe said. Nice job going at the right time to give Pau that opportunity. Superb clock management.

Gasol -- -- Up until the final second of the game, Pau had just 7 points. He wasn't imposing himself offensively nor attacking quickly when he got the ball. Down by a point, Kobe missed a baseline jumper, but Pau crashed the glass for the easy putback score with 0.5 left. "Luckily the ball bounced the right way," he said. Good job putting himself in position for that. Pau had just missed a jumphook on a previous offensive sequence (and was stripped a few plays earlier), but he saved the day this time down. That was his 18th rebound of the night. The Lakers didn't have the same type of interior passing and fluidity in the paint as the last game. Bynum and Gasol combined for just 15 points. A lot of contributions across the board to make the victory possible. Defensively, the two did a great job most of the night clogging the lane and keeping the dribble penetration to a minimum. Thunder bigs looked soft on the glass against Pau. "If you're the two best bigs in the series, act like it," Marc Jackson said as the key to the Lakers success. It wasn't pretty, but Pau scrapped his way to victory. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-11 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 18 boards (5 offensive), 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He airballed a jumphook. He cleaned up a Bynum miss on a couple putback attempts. He missed a 16-gooter out of the timeout. He drew FTs out of a timeout, he made one. He hit a jumphook on a corner entry that came over the top of the D. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting in the first. He attacked and kicked to Farmar for three. He kicked out to Fish for a wide open three. He missed a turnaround jumper. He no looked from the post to a cutting Lamar for a layup. He dunked off the interior bounce pass from Kobe. He swatted Westbrook in transition, great job getting back in position. He had 7 points on 3-8 shooting, 12 boards (3 offensive) and 3 assists. Second Half: Cheap moving screen call. No help on Durant to give up a three on the other end. He was stripped in the post. He missed a quick jumphook with good position in the final minute. He challenged a man at the elbow, ran back under the hoop, bodied his way into good position and helped the Lakers secure a board. He crashed the glass and put back in a Kobe miss with under a second left. Playoff game winner. Series over.

Bynum -- -- He was laboring at times with his mobility after hyperextending his knee in the first half. He played through it, played tough, but was a bit limited. The Lakers weren't anywhere near as effective at setting up their bigmen like they were in the last game. No lob passes for dunks. No interior feeds. The refs weren't giving him much love at times. There were a couple instances when they did call fouls that you thought Bynum would surely be going to the line, but they took the ball out of bounds. Very weak. Bynum also had a couple three second calls. When the ball gets moved around the perimeter, he's got to re-establish position for the refs or that whistle will come. Before the game, Bynum again stressed the importance of transition D and slowing Westbrook down. The Lakers did a decent job of that in the first half, but bad offense led to bustouts in the second half. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Deep repost, he took the pass and scored easily with his left. He swiped a pass that looked like it was going to Fisher, he turned and sank the jumper in the lane. He grabbed a Kobe miss, missed a putback but Pau cleaned it up. He was tied up after scooping up a loose ball in the paint and trying to score. He was called for stepping out of bounds after tracking down an off-target lob. Bad decision to kickout when a double didn't come, this allowed the D to step around him and deny a repost pass. He had 4 points on 2-3 shooting and 2 boards. Second Half: He went straight up to challenge Durant and was whistled for a bogus foul. He took the high entry, spun and dunked (in pain). No help on the lob to Green on the other end. He was fouled with no call on a post up, got it back and was hacked (no FTs again, horrible). Then, he was called for three seconds. He was called for three seconds again (should have gotten out when the first post entry had to reverse). He missed a jumphook in the post.

Artest -- -- Adding a large black and white shoulder pad/compression shirt to go with the hand injuries, he was in pain early in the game after blocking a Durant shot. He was a tough son-of-a... all night, though. Durant was held to 5-23 shooting. Sure he got to the line, but some of that was clearly the loose whistles that follow Durant, getting calls unlike other guys on the floor. Artest did a good job of not getting called for fouls. He made Durant work. Even seemed to get in Durant's head at times. Nothing came easy and that was the key. He held Durant to .349 shooting (43-123, 10-35 from three) in the series. That's 5 points below his average, but also way under his .476 regular season shooting percentage. This was almost all Ron vs. Durant. Unlike last season at the 3 spot. Last year, Kobe had to slide over to the SF spot for the team to get stops against the premier SFs in the game. Not having to cover for the SFs allowed Kobe to slide over to Westbrook and probably saved the series for the Lakers as that turned the tables. Offensively, Ron actually hit a couple of big shots in the fourth quarter. Huge makes in the pressure cooker. Glad he hit those. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He blocked Durant from behind, and then Ron grabbed his shoulder in pain. He sank a long wing jumper. He missed fading jumper on Westbrook in the post, got to get closer to the hoop, not farther. He missed a corner jumper, FTs for Durant the other way in transition. He missed another corner jumper on the next trip and we were lucky not to get scored on. Bogus foul as he was checked by Westbrook and they gave FTs to Durant (Phil wanted to know why Durant was on the line). He deflected a pass to save a likely hoop for Westbrook. He missed a wing three. He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting. Durant had 14 on 2-11 shooting (9-10 from the line, of course). Second Half: He missed a corner three to start the half (shotclock low, had to take it). He missed a fade against Durant in the post. Good hustle to strip a ball off a big on D. He rattled in an open wing three on a Fish kickout. Next time down, he somehow created and just got off a baseline jumper to sink it as the shotclock went off (should have been an And-1...you know Durant gets that whistle). He lost the handle on a baseline handoff. He missed an open three.

Fisher -- -- Too bad their is not like a designated hitter position in basketball. The Lakers once again put Kobe on Westbrook to start the game. The Lakers pulled out to an early lead, but once the Thunder went big and Fish had to cover Green, that was trouble. The Thunder went after that match up and Phil was forced to go big with Lamar. In the second half, you saw more of DFish on Westbrook. Unfortunately, it came in crunch time and once again Derek was picked on. Westbrook had a couple key scores, including an offensive board when Fish didn't box out for an And-1. Phil later would switch Kobe on Westbrook out of a timeout in some final sequences. Offensively, Fish played a great game after he settled in. He sank half of his threes, most shots he had to take. He still struggled with post entries, but did move the ball well and led the team in assists. Fish made 14-30 from three in this series. Glad to see those numbers. It's vital for the Lakers to stretch the floor. Fisher will now face a tough Deron Williams in the next series. The Lakers may have to settle on Deron getting his and locking down everywhere else. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed an early offense wing jumper, not what the team wants. He was called for a blocking foul on a Durant drive. He swished a corner three off a Kobe kickout. Green in the post against Fish, double team, layup for a man under the hoop. He measured and sank an inside-out three. He had to sit with his third foul when he switched on Durant and Durant clipped Fish on his head with an arm on his attack (no one else on the floor gets that call, Fish had to sit). He had 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from three). Second Half: He couldn't connect with Pau on a lob pass. Lost on D and he gave up a layup to Thabo. He missed a wing three. He missed a toe-on-the-three-line jumper. He missed a three, some contact no call, and he took what looked a frustration foul for FTs with 36 seconds left in the quarter, (horrible vet play even if you are frustrated). He sank a three on an Artest kickout next time down. He attacked off the pinch post and scored a layup with his right (umm, wow). He attacked and kicked to Artest for three. Westbrook sank a pull-up over Fish. Westbrook grabbed an offensive board and scored an And-1 (no box out by Fish).

Lamar -- -- LO will be very happy to put the Thunder behind him and face the Jazz. We should see him emerge as an impact player against Utah. He typically gives them all kinds of trouble. The floor will be a little more open and the pace different. Prior to this win, Lamar said, "We just got to control the tempo of the game." Again, this is something that limits some of Lamar's impact -- the ability to grab boards and push out in transition from the PF spot. We should see that return. Lamar battled tonight, especially in the closing moments on the defensive end. Phil brought him in early to match up with a tall Thunder lineup. The Lakers didn't seem ready to run the Bynum, Pau, Lamar, Artest, Kobe lineup...since this season they just never used it. Ever. Wish they would have run it so the guys could have gotten a little used to running together in those situations. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 3 blocks and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: In for DFish, he got tapped on a 15-footer. He airballed a forced jumphook, layup the other way. He swished a sideline three next time down. Token D in transition, giving up a foul to Durant. He sealed his man, took the high corner lob entry and scored the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He picked up his second foul with 9:28 left in the second quarter. He scored a layup off the cut off Pau post up. He had 7 points on 3-5 shooting and 2 boards. Second Half: He faked the high-low, attacked and dunked (more please). He airballed a three with the shotclock low. Head up his you-know-what and Durant swung through to draw FTs. He missed a wing three with the shotclock low and the offense stalled. He blocked Collison under the hoop. Some clutch defensive boards. On Kobe's shot, Lamar was walking backward watching, Pau was busy crashing. Get in there, LO!

Brown -- -- Good thing Shannon's shot showed up tonight. This was the first game Shannon had played without the brace on his right hand. It had been a month. His first half was better than his second, but he produced. The second unit was able to hold the line (despite a couple turnovers by Shannon). They got key minutes in the fourth, too, for a lengthy stretch. The team had to rely on guys like Shannon, Luke and Farmar to come up big on the road. Only three Lakers got to double digits, Shannon did it in 5 shots off the bench. Got to love that in a big game in a hostile environment. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He sank a long wing jumper. He was rejected trying to go one-on-four in transition. He drained an early offense sideline jumper, left open. He swished a sideline three next time down. He attacked the rim in transition and went down hard on the foul, he made one FT. Great effort diving for a loose ball. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting. "His reward for going 3 of 4? He's out of the game," Stu said. Second Half: Turnover on a baseline pass. He tried to attack off the three line, lost it and was dunked in in transiton. He sank a three with the shotclock about to expire.

Farmar -- -- Jordan led the team with a +7 tonight. Not that he played particularly sensational, but the second units just got the job done over the Thunder bench. Usually, your bench fades or shrinks on the road, but Farmar and Co. held the line while running with only two impact players. They didn't have the crowd behind them and just played steady. Farmar didn't try to do anything out of control. Defensively, he had a few nice challenges on shots to force misses. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 4 assists and 1 foul in 11 minutes. The Action: Nice high entry over the top of the D to Lamar for an And-1. He missed a wing three. Nice challenge on a jumper to force a miss. He sank a three on a kickout from Pau. Second Half: He airballed a wide open pull up jumper. Nice challenge on the other end again to force an airball. (There were four airballs early in the fourth.)

Luke -- -- Luuuuuuuuuke! One of the unsung heroes in this game. Phil seemed to be playing with fire leaving Kobe on the bench for Luke and Shannon at times. Luke didn't let Phil down. In the fourth, he scored 5 points on two big makes in a critical juncture. The team somehow needed to scratch out points and those are big, big hoops for the team. Luke had scored only 2 points in the previous five games. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and no fouls in 11 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: Quick entry to Bynum off a ball reverse for what looked like FTs, but the refs didn't give it to Bynum. He missed a corner three. Second Half: He swished a baseline fallaway (he doesn't take that and it's probably another three-second call on Bynum). He drained a catch-and-shoot corner three, tough shot having to go quickly.

Powell -- -- Josh came in for some late first-half minutes and played some great ball on both ends. Hustle and intelligent effort. No matter what your skills are those two things can be a constant. When he got his minutes, he hit the floor for a loose ball and drew a foul on Durant for FTs. Well done. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 2-2 from the line and was a +3 in 3 minutes. The Action: He dove to the floor to help get a loose ball and a Laker possession. Nice up-fake in transition to draw a foul on Durant, he made both FTs. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Phil -- -- I didn't agree with several of the subs and units that Phil was running at certain times in this game, but somehow guys stepped up. Timely scores from Shannon, Farmar and Luke tonight. Kobe was red hot, picked up two quick whistles but then sat for 8 minutes deep into the fourth, effectively chilling him. Somehow, they pulled through. Tex Winter always said Phil was a very lucky guy. Luck seemed to come into play in this one... "We closed games out in Utah and Denver," Phil said prior to the game. "They've been crazy places to play. We've been able to do the job there. So, this is something we should be able to sustain."... The Lakers pulled out to an 11-4 lead, forcing a Thunder timeout after 5 minutes. A mix of perimeter and interior ball. Good start... Thabo picked up two fouls and Brooks brought in Collison, sliding Green down against Fisher. The Thunder immediately went at that. Phil countered with Lamar for DFish -- five of the Laker impact ballers on the floor for the first time. That put Westbrook on Artest as the Thunder put Durant on Kobe... Up 20-16, Phil called a timeout... He brought in Shannon for Bynum. They lost their lead shortly later... The Lakers trailed 27-26 after the first quarter. They shot 37 percent (10-27)... "They brought a big lineup in and it effectively changed the game," Phil said. The Thunder were more effective at dealing with the Kobe on Westbrook match up by causing problems elsewhere... He started a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Shannon, Farmar second-quarter lineup... Some good shooting by Shannon and the Lakers were able to play even with the second unit in for 4 minutes of action... Phil then brought in Kobe for Shannon and Pau for Lamar. Not sure why Shannon had to sit as he was hot, but Farmar stepped up with a three before Phil sat him for Fisher... This time Phil put Fish back on Westbrook when the big Thunder lineup came... Some nice interior passing finally for L.A. and they forced a Thunder timeout with a 6-point lead... Phil sat Fisher who had foul trouble for Shannon who took Westbrook against the big lineup... He brought in Powell for Lamar. Good minutes by Josh... Despite a couple turnovers from Kobe near the end, the Lakers won the second quarter 27-20. They made 10-17 shots in the second... The Lakers led 53-47 at the half. They shot 45.5 percent (20-44, 5-10 from three, 8-12 from the line). The Thunder shot 14-42 (2-7 from three, 17-21 from the line). The fastbreak scoring was tied 5-5 at the half... Coaches wanted the team to move the ball faster (see game 5)... The Lakers quickly lost the lead on a 5-0 Thunder start to the half and Phil called a quick timeout with 10:42 still left in the quarter... Midway through the quarter, Phil sat Bynum for Lamar, 2-point Laker lead... Phil sat Kobe when he picked up his fourth foul with a couple minutes left in the third. He was on fire. (Refs jobbed Kobe on one of those fouls.) Kobe had the hot hand and the lead that the Lakers had built up was quickly erased when Shannon had 2 turnovers... The Lakers led 76-73 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Shannon, Farmar unit. Two impact players at a critical juncture. Two airballs by Farmar and Lamar, but they scrapped on both ends... He sat Shannon for Artest when Shannon picked up a cheap foul on Durant... Lakers up 6, timeout. Still no Kobe after 3 minutes... Westbrook subbed in, still no Kobe. Phil brings in DFish to match up with him 7:38, up by 5 instead. Mistake... Westbrook hit an open three and Phil called a timeout with 6:21 up by 4... Phil brought in Kobe for Luke. About a 9-minute rest for Kobe, a couple minutes too long. Kobe now has to warm up in crunch time... With the Thunder big lineup in, Phil stuck with Fish on Westbrook. The Lakers lost the lead and the crowd in crunch time. They had to dig in... Lakers down 92-91 with 2:41 and the Thunder called a timeout... Still down 1 with 47.3 left, Phil called a timeout. He went to Pau in the post, but few touches for Pau and a long rest seemed to leave him cold. He missed... No timeout off the Thunder miss. Kobe had single coverage against Westbrook (no high screen to take the ball out of his hands, no help zone). Kobe attacked and missed a good look. Pau cleaned it up for the win... With 0.5 left, Phil subbed in Drew to guard the inbounds. Good call... The Lakers were outscored 8-0 on the break in the second half. They were outscored 46-38 in the paint. The Lakers had 16 turnovers, the Thunder 7... They simply shot better and defended better. The Lakers shot 47 percent (12-24 from three, 9-14 from the line). The Thunder shot 36.5 percent (5-19 from three, 27-31 from the line)...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The Thunder had a key 10-0 run shortly after Phil brought back Kobe and Pau after long rests in the fourth. Too long, apparently, Westbrook had his way with Fish again during this stretch. He scored 8 points in his final stint. Pau had 2 points in the second half, the last 2.

[Paillard]

First.

[heatseeker08]

What a game, it almost gave me a heart attack.
_________________
Ron Artest: "SAY QUEENSBRIDGE"

[10scott10]

Sometimes, you make your own luck. Phil seemed to do that tonight with the way some of the guys off the bench contributed.

This was a great series, but I am really glad to be done with it. I felt that the thunder would be our worst match-up in the west, I still think that will be the case.


Hopefully The combination of Kobe and ron can do repeat their defensive efforts towards Deron in the next round

[thurloly]

I have waited so long for this recap from DB.

Finally, I can go to bed.

Thanks, sir!

[tw-lakbfan]

A close game and a W. Nervous yet satisfying.

[mhan00]

great sign to see kobe rounding into shape. it might have been my imagination, but i thought the bandage on his index finger was much thinner than it used to be. either way, it was great to see kobe with a bounce in his step again; it's been a while.

lamar should be huge in the next series. the jazz have no answer for him, so he should just demolish them.

[lounger]

Sweet win!

Thanks DB! Kobe gave us some breathing room in the 3rd. Good thing the Spaniard, Pau, came through for us with his presence of mind and hustle.

And props to Artest for his defensive lockdown on Durant.

[OregonLakerGuy]

thx db

[Nobody]

Great team effort! OKC is a pesky young team, I'm very glad this didn't go to 7 games.

Thanks for the writeup.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks again DB!

Nice game by every Laker that played tonight! That putback by Gasol was great, but the way Ron's defense took Durant out of action all night was spectacular.

Time to beat Utah. In 5 games or less....

[DancingBarry]

[MedRomLaker]

Thanks for the recap DB, great win now on to utah.
_________________
11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[ChefLinda]

Thanks for the great work, DB.

[limchrc]

thanks

[Rick12322]

Thanks for the excellent writeup. That game had Phil on his toes with all the matchups.

More bad officiating, no surprise as the name "Ken Mauer" some how warned us all ahead of time.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[oaktown_dimond]

great game. OKC is turning out to be one legitimate team.

man, remember when everyone was saying the west was way too deep compared to the east? and that was years ago. right now, it's JUST INSANE with. OKC and Portland are young and here to stay. the list goes on and on.

we need to get some west coast players to the east to balance it out. i volunteer 'Melo and Duncan

Robby

[Nobody]

[Wolverine]

[Klone_dd]

When you look back at the series and see that OKC shot below 40% for the entire series, despite having such a huge fastbreak advantage, you wonder how the Lakers didn't sweep. Memo to Stern - that FT disparity was the great equalizer.

Kobe was back to being Kobe. Fish shot well. Bynum and Pau weren't as effective. LO had a sneaky good game. But the bench actually won the game.

[RVCdesigns]

"Durant was held to 5-23 shooting."

Great quote DB, thanks.