Thunder Shuts Down Bryant, Coasts to Big Win

Originally Published: Mar 26, 2010 10:9 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder started the game hot and made Kobe Bryant almost nonexistent on the way to a 91-75 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers Friday.

The Thunder (44-27) began the game on a 13-4 run and led from wire to wire. The defense – particularly Thabo Sefolosha – suffocated Bryant, who finished with just 11 points and nine turnovers. OKC established such a huge lead that he did not even play in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City led by 33 points at the end of the third quarter and benched the majority of its starters going into the final frame. The Lakers (53-19) started the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and outscored the Thunder 28-11 to make the final score much closer than the game was.

The Lakers struggled on the offensive end all night. They did not score more than 20 points in any of the first three quarters and finished the game shooting 39 percent from the floor. They scored just 34 points in the first half, their lowest output of the year. They also narrowly avoided breaking a franchise record for fewest points in a game, which still stands at 70.

Bryant was not the only Laker to have problems with turnovers. Los Angeles gave the ball away a total of 18 times, resulting in 21 Thunder points. The Lakers also only registered seven assists, which barely avoided another franchise low.

Russell Westbrook started the game on fire and established the Thunder’s high energy level. He finished shooting 10-of-13 and scored 23 points in 28 minutes on the floor. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 26 points, but was 1-of-7 from behind the 3-point line. Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic each added 10 points.

Bryant and Lamar Odom - who finished with 15 points – were the only two Lakers who scored in double figures. Los Angeles still has the best record in the Western Conference, but Friday’s loss snapped a seven-game winning streak.

The Thunder has now exorcised its demons against two teams in consecutive games. It ended a 13-game losing streak to the Houston Rockets Wednesday, and entered Friday having lost 12 in a row to the Lakers. In both cases, the wins were the first since the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City.

OKC maintained the No. 6 spot in the West and is two games behind Utah for the fourth seed, which would provide home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Thunder will try to build on its two-game winning streak at 6 p.m. Sunday against the Portland Trailblazers, who have won six of their last seven games.