Vitals: Lakers at Thunder, Game Four

The Thunder will try to build on its first playoff win since moving to Oklahoma City.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:40 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Apr 23, 2010 5:18 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

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

Saturday, April 24, 2010, 8:30 p.m. CDT
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Game 4 of 7

Anticipated Starting Lineups (Postseason Statistics)

	Los Angeles (Away)	Oklahoma City Thunder (Home)
PG	Derek Fisher 11.0, 3.3 APG	Russell Westbrook 23.0 PPG, 5.0 APG
SG	Kobe Bryant 28.0 PPG, 4.0 APG	Thabo Sefolosha 5.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG
SF	Ron Artest 7.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG	Kevin Durant 28.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG
PF	Pau Gasol 20.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG	Jeff Green 10.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG
C	Andrew Bynum 10.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG	Nenad Krstic 7.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG

Injuries
Los Angeles: G Sasha Vujacic (ankle, out).
Oklahoma City: None Reported.

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

What you need to know...

The Thunder gave its fans a spectacle in the first playoff game in Oklahoma City Thursday, and Kevin Durant added to his growing reputation on both ends of the court. Durant went 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and at the same time shut down Kobe Bryant on the defensive end. Bryant went just 2-of-10 in the fourth quarter and could not combat Durant’s six-inch height advantage, and said after the game that he was surprised Durant guarded him.

Oklahoma City has now made this a series again, and the road team has yet to win a game. If the Thunder can win again Saturday and tie the series, it could become the most interesting series in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Thunder continues to mature game by game, and its young players are starting to work through their nerves.

Who to watch...

Bryant and Durant will obviously be the centerpieces for both teams, but victory could come down to which group of supporting players performs better. For the Thunder, that will be led by Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has proven to be nearly unguardable when he drives to the hoop; the aging Laker guards cannot keep up with his speed and agility. James Harden also stepped up in Game 3, finishing with 18 points off the bench after not registering any points in the first two games combined. The young combo of Westbrook and Harden could be the key to OKC’s success.

For Los Angeles, nobody other than Bryant and Pau Gasol have managed to contribute consistent scoring. Ron Artest cannot hit open shots (he went 1-of-5 from behind the 3-point line in Game 3), Andrew Bynum disappears for long stretches, and the entire bench has been almost non-existent. If Bryant and Gasol are forced to continue carrying the offense, the Lakers could be in legitimate trouble.