Vitals: Lakers at Thunder, Game Six

Oklahoma Sports brings you everything you need to know about Game 6 between the Thunder and Lakers.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:41 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Apr 29, 2010 4:3 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers at No. 8 Oklahoma City Thunder
Western Conference Quarterfinals
Lakers lead, 3-2.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 8:30 p.m. CDT
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Game 6 of 7

Anticipated Starting Lineups (Postseason Statistics)

	Los Angeles Lakers (Away)	Oklahoma City Thunder (Home
PG	Derek Fisher 10.0 PPG, 2.8 APG	Russell Westbrook 20.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG
SG	Kobe Bryant 21.8 PPG, 4.6 APG	Thabo Sefolosha 4.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG
SF	Ron Artest 8.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG	Kevin Durant 24.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG
PF	Pau Gasol 19.8 PPG, 11.0 RPG	Jeff Green 11.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
C	Andrew Bynum 13.2 PPG, 10.0 RPG	Nenad Krstic 6.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG

Injuries
Los Angeles: G, Sasha Vujacic (ankle, out); C, D.J. Mbenga (eye, out).
Oklahoma City: None Reported.

Where to find it...
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, ESPN
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know...

After the Thunder dominated Game 4 at home, the tables completely turned when the teams went back to Los Angeles. Oklahoma City missed its first 13 shots and fell behind 14-1, and the Lakers coasted from there. Several Lakers said after the game that the blowout in Oklahoma City was a wake-up call, so now it should be interesting to see how the young Thunder responds to similar adversity. OKC has not lost in front of the raucous Ford Center crowd yet this postseason.

Who to watch...

The Thunder has been a completely different team at home, with rookie James Harden being the biggest difference. In the three games in Los Angeles, Harden has totaled 11 points and shot just 27 percent from the field; in the two games in the Ford Center, Harden scored 33 points on 54 percent shooting. He was also significantly more aggressive at home, getting to the free-throw 16 times compared to just three attempts from the charity stripe on the road. The bench is one of OKC’s biggest strengths, since the Lakers lack ideal depth. Harden and Serge Ibaka will both need to be major contributors if the Thunder is going to avoid elimination at home.

Kobe Bryant acted as a facilitator in Game 5, consistently passing the ball under the basket to the Lakers’ big men, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Gasol and Bynum responded, combining for 46 points on 18-of-26 shooting. The Lakers hold a clear size advantage down low, which should give the Thunder fits on defense. OKC will need to either keep the ball out of the hands of the big men or force them into early foul trouble.