Thunder Thumping: OKC Gets To 20 Wins After Drilling Lakers

Oklahoma City picked up its second win in three days inside of the Staples Center as the Thunder beat the Lakers 120-85 to improve to 20-9 on the year.

It appeared early on that the Thunder wouldn’t even let the game get close even for a second, as they built up a 25-to-10 lead in the first quarter, but OKC struggled to maintain a large lead once the second unit checked in for the starters.

With both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the bench, Kobe Bryant took advantage of the opportunity and let the home crowd see flashes of his old self. Led by Bryant, LA fought back and flipped the script by taking a 42-39 lead with 5:05 left in the second quarter.

That Lakers’ scoring spurt proved to be a wakeup call for the Thunder, and the boys in blue were able to go on a run of their own to take an 11-point lead into halftime. The run at the end of the half was fueled by Westbrook, who had eight points and three assists in the second quarter alone.  

Things didn’t slow down for the Thunder in the third quarter, and opened the frame on a 22-to-0 run to take a 79-46 lead. At that point there was no looking back for Oklahoma City, and they rolled to another victory while its starters sat the entire fourth quarter and rested.

Westbrook led the Thunder in scoring with 23 points to go with his eight rebounds and eight assists. Durant added 21 points and seven rebounds, while Serge Ibaka Scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Andre Roberson had his best game as a pro, recording 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four blocks. Roberson’s most impressive stat of the night was his plus/minus total of +45, which was the highest on the team. Bryant led the Lakers with 19 points.  

The Thunder will be back in action on Christmas day when they host the Chicago Bulls (15-11) at 1:30 p.m.