Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder trailed 30-18 after one quarter and played one of the worst first halves they have in awhile before coming back and beating the Los Angeles Lakers in Staples Center 102-93.

Russell Westbrook led the way with another hot second half scoring 36 points to go along with six assists and just one turnover. Westbrook scored 17 of his points in the third quarter where the Thunder outscored the Lakers 34-19.

Kevin Durant scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out five assists after a really tough start from the field. Durant missed his first eight shots of the game and was 5-for-16 at halftime.

The Lakers pounded the Thunder inside early on with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and the Thunder would respond with a little bit of the Lakers’ own medicine to fuel their comeback. Oklahoma City pulled down 19 offensive rebounds in the game and got another great performance from Kendrick Perkins who had 12 points and eight rebounds on the night.

The play from the Thunder big men these past few games can’t go unnoticed as they have been a huge reason for the team clicking on all cylinders during this five-game winning streak.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Early in the second quarter it would be Derek Fisher who provided the necessary lift on offense for the Thunder scoring seven points. Fisher played 11 minutes in the game and the Thunder were plus-13 during that time. Fisher also received a standing ovation when he checked in the game.

In the last meeting between these teams James Harden and Kobe Bryant were talking trash in the fourth quarter. Bryant again was dealing at the mouth tonight only to see the Thunder make him look like an old man. Bryant began covering Westbrook late in the third quarter with Westbrook getting hot from the floor only to have Westbrook blow by Bryant for an amazing buzzer-beater to end the third quarter.

Harden scored just nine points in the game and was held to under double-digit scoring for just the third time this season.

Westbrook has really been playing at a high level lately and at this rate has a legit chance to be considered a First Team All-NBA member once the season is over. He just looks so unstoppable at times and in a game like this against the Lakers when they had no one who could hold his jock, he really took over.

The Thunder (39-12) are off the next two nights and will play next at home against the Chicago Bulls (41-11) Sunday afternoon.

Russell Westbrook really showed off his athleticism with this buzzer-beating three-pointer against the Lakers Thursday night. Just watch Kobe Bryant think for a second he’s going to defend Westbrook on this play and the Honey Badger blow past him.

Westbrook scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter and looked unstoppable. He also has six assists in the game so far to zero turnovers.

Westbrook is starting to go into that mode where he brings the ball up the court and makes no passes before shooting. It’s the same thing he did in the Thunder’s last game against Portland and had success but not ideal always.

The Thunder trailed 30-18 after the first quarter but have since really outplayed the Lakers and lead 78-68 after three.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (4-game winning streak)
107.8 Offensive Efficiency (1st)
100.2 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
95.8 Pace (6th)
57.4 True Shooting % (1st)
51.6 Rebound Rate (4th)

Lakers (1-game winning streak)
102.4 Offensive Efficiency (11th)
99.3 Defensive Efficiency (9th)
92.8 Pace (20th)
53.3 True Shooting % (7th)
52.6 Rebound Rate (2nd)

It’s not going to be easy for the Oklahoma City Thunder to make it five straight tonight in Staples Center taking on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oklahoma City has been playing some of its best basketball all season of late but the Lakers have been too since acquiring Ramon Sessions, an actual point guard.

The matchup tonight will also be the first time Derek Fisher plays against the team that traded him away a few weeks ago. Fisher doesn’t get a ton of minutes for the Thunder but expect him to be up for the challenge tonight while he’s out there.

The Lakers have had an issue all season containing point guards and while adding Sessions helps their offense, defending Russell Westbrook will be no easy task tonight. Westbrook is putting up career-high marks shooting the ball this season and has been especially efficient in the past week or so.

The last time these teams met we saw James Harden accept the challenge of taking on Kobe Bryant and he did admirably at it. The Thunder are not scared of the Lakers and Bryant so expect the same attitude tonight. If Oklahoma City can get Bryant to thinking it’s personal he may shoot the Lakers out of the game tonight.

In the past we’ve seen Kevin Durant struggle with Metta World Peace and his physical defense but this season we are seeing Durant get past those types of things on his way toward an MVP-caliber campaign.

The firepower of the Thunder will be a tough match for the Lakers but the size and rebounding Los Angeles has will also present problems for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have been up to any challenge lately and going on the road to play the Lakers will be an impressive win if they can pull it out.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had their best start to the season this year since the Kevin Durant-era began. Oklahoma City has the best record in the West and tied for best in the league with Miami at 27-7 this year.

But the Thunder are far from perfect. There are many questions that need to be asked and answered about this team.

The staff at Thunderous Intentions is here to answer these questions for you. Below are the 10 most pressing questions about the Thunder this season and our responses:

What is Oklahoma City’s biggest weakness?

Andrew Kennedy: Post offense. I don’t see it as much of a weakness but rather that they just don’t do it enough. Durant is great in the post but just doesn’t go down their enough. Posting Durant and Westbrook needs to be a staple of the Thunder’s crunch time offense if they’re going to win a title.

Cody Brees: Turnovers. Offensive rebounding isn’t a good area either, mostly because the Thunder like to get out and run and Ibaka tries to flatten every ball that is shot in the paint. If the Thunder can at least limit their live ball turnovers that should give them a better chance to set up the defense being the playoffs become a much more half court game.

Blake Potash: The offensive post play is by far the Thunder’s weakest point. They can’t score in the paint against teams with two above-average big men. Kendrick Perkins is not the player he once was, and Serge Ibaka is still young, and developing post moves.

Are the Thunder going to have the same problems in the playoffs this year as they did last year?

AK: I don’t think so. I’m not as worried about the turnovers this year and definitely not as worried about Westbrook. I think the criticism he got for not getting the ball to Durant was too harsh and untrue. The OKC offense was very stagnant last postseason and has since improved. Durant and Westbrook are great friends too so I don’t think they will have any issues sharing the ball even in crunch time.

CB: Depends on the match up. If the Thunder play the Lakers and Westbrook has to watch Durant try to get Metta World Peace off him for 15 seconds before blowing by Derek Fisher, then yes. Durant has been a lot better at getting to his spots inside the arc which should help him get more shots. But I could see a stronger physical defender still giving Durant a lot of problems come playoff time.

BP: It looks like the ball movement has improved a bit this year, but the offense still seems rather one-dimensional. Still, that one dimension is very good, and can get the Thunder to the NBA Finals, depending on matchups. Westbrook needs to be more of a point guard than a scorer to be more successful when the playoffs come around.

Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

How much does Oklahoma City miss Eric Maynor?

AK: They miss him a lot. If Maynor never got injured than this Oklahoma City team may have won a few more games already and definitely more this season. There are a lot of games now where Westbrook has to come back very quickly after coming out of the game because Reggie Jackson isn’t Eric Maynor. Maynor was one of the best backup points in the league and the only actual point guard on the Thunder roster. If not for James Harden’s emergence as the second unit playmaker this injury could have been drastic for OKC.

CB: About as much as LeBron misses his hairline. I wrote an article earlier about the struggles of rookie point guard Reggie Jackson and how the Thunder miss Maynor, and unfortunately Jackson hasn’t improved too much. The one diamond in the rough is that this might prevent a team from throwing Mike Conley money at Maynor next year when he’s a restricted free agent.

BP: Eric Maynor was a key part of the bench unit with James Harden, giving the Thunder two options off the bench. Since his injury, the non-Harden bench has been failing to make impacts on games, and Harden has had to dominate the ball when Durant and Westbrook aren’t on the floor. Maynor’s absence may not be the reason the Thunder don’t win the Finals, but he sure is missed.

What would be the best addition the Thunder could make?

AK: The Thunder need to figure out their fifth guy for crunch time. Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka is great but between Perkins, Cook and Sefolosha it may not be enough to win a title. A better spot-up shooter than Cook or athletic slasher of some sort would be great for this team.

CB: Probably Eric Maynor. Once the playoffs start teams won’t be forces to go to their bench so much with actual days off between games. I still wouldn’t mind a 1-2 combo guard off the bench that can shoot. Mostly because Jackson and Ivey have been terrible.

BP: If the Thunder could make a move to get Pau Gasol, their Finals hopes would become a lot more realistic. I doubt they would want to move Ibaka and/or Harden, so all the Thunder can do is try and get a power forward or center that can give them some depth and scoring in the paint. I can’t see the Thunder making any trades though.

Are Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook the most lethal one-two punch in the NBA?

AK: Yes because they complement each other better than LeBron and Wade. LeBron and Wade basically do the same thing as each other. Durant and Westbrook are a little different. Are they as talented overall as LeBron and Wade? Maybe not yet. But I wouldn’t take any other duo in the league right now moving forward.

CB: I would say yes based on the variety of ways those two can score. They can both get to the rim, shoot a lot of free throws, have a good mid range game and can hit you from deep. The other key reason is LeBron and Wade are shooting 35 percent and 33 percent respectively from the field this year in clutch situations. Thunder in the clutch? Durant is shooting at 43 percent and Westbrook an even greater 50 percent.

BP: In a few years this may be the case, but LeBron and Wade are by far the best one-two punch in the NBA. Westbrook still needs to learn how to work well with Durant during clutch moments. The shot distribution is a little off of what it needs to be to make this a very efficient combo.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Do the Thunder have enough scoring options to win a title?

AK: Yes. I wrote earlier last week how the scrutiny about this was a little harsh. They definitely have enough scoring prowess the only issue is if they can score in as many different ways as may be necessary to win a title this year.

CB: Options? Yes. Balance is what I am not sure about. If you watched the finals last year in clutch time it was give the ball to Dirk and get out of the way. Same should be for Durant this year. The problem might be getting to clutch time without running Durant into the ground. The Thunder are going to need about 50 points a game from Ibaka, Cook, and the bench if they want to be an elite offensive team.

BP: Yes, and no. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden can all put up plenty of points, and take control of the game. That can work getting to the Finals, but if they want to win it, Ibaka will need to show a little more offensive prowess.

What needs to happen for Kevin Durant to win the MVP?

AK: If the Heat slip up some and the Thunder finish with the best record in the NBA then Durant has a chance. It’ll be just like Derrick Rose winning last year. Durant has been on the rise in terms of scoring of late too. If he finishes the year averaging 30 a game then he’ll have to average around 33 a night in the second half of the season. That will be impressive and won’t go unnoticed.

CB: LeBron gets hit by a bus.

BP: LeBron James needs to get hurt, or forget how to play basketball. Surprisingly under the radar, LeBron is having one of the best seasons the NBA has ever seen. It doesn’t look like he is going to slow down any, and unless voters penalize him for being on the same team as Dwyane Wade, LeBron is going to win this year’s MVP.

Who is the team to beat in the Western Conference?

AK: The Thunder are and only because Dallas isn’t the same team as last year. People forget how close this Thunder team was to making it to the Finals last year. They have the best record in the conference and deserved to be recognized as the best team in it.

CB: The Thunder, but not by much. If you made me bet I would still take the field, but the improvements that KD and Russ have made this year with scoring efficiency should really make the difference down the stretch.

BP: The Thunder. With the best current record in the West, the Thunder have control of the conference, and are the front-runners to make the Finals at the moment. Durant and Westbrook can both take over games, and are impossible matchups for the other contenders.

Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Which team in the Western Conference would be the worst playoff matchup for the Thunder?

AK: Portland. There would be nothing worse for Oklahoma City than having to play Portland in round one. They are such a physical team on defense and when healthy have a lot of tools that give the Thunder fits.

CB: Portland scares me the most. Perkins doesn’t do much since Camby won’t shoot much. Ibaka has problems guarding power forward’s with range. Gerald Wallace is the type of big, strong, athletic defender that could give Durant problems.

BP: The Los Angeles Lakers. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are tough matchups for Ibaka and Perkins, on both ends of the floor. The Thunder big men would struggle to score, and they would have to rely and Durant, Westbrook, and Harden to carry them through the series. Fortunately, the Lakers don’t have a very strong defensive backcourt, and Harden played a great defensive game against Kobe in their last meeting. The Thunder would still be the favorite, but you can never count out Kobe Bryant in the playoffs.

How far will the Thunder go in the playoffs this year?

AK: I think they make it to the NBA Finals. After that it depends who they play if they win or not. I think the Thunder can beat Chicago in a 7-game series but I’m not sure about Miami yet. If I had to pick one team to win the title right now I’d pick Oklahoma City based on the fact that I think they have the best chance of any team in the league simply to make it to the Finals.

CB: As far and Durant and Westbrook take them. Sorry for the cliché answer but it’s the truth. If they are both on their A game the Thunder are unbeatable. Miami appears to be the biggest hurdle right now, but a lot can change before the trade deadline.

BP: The Thunder will make the NBA Finals and lose to the Heat/Bulls. They are just one piece away from taking that next step, but for now, they don’t match up well with either team that will come out of the east. The Thunder won’t fare well against these elite defenses, and don’t have the defense themselves to slow down Rose or LeBron-Wade.

Last night at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, head coach Scott Brooks called for it after the six-minute time out of the third quarter coming out of commercial. The play works most obviously when the defense isn’t ready and is lulled into a sort of sleep.

The Thunder don’t run a lot of complex sets but do have a couple of quick-hitting plays they can strike with and this may be their best one.

The play begins with Russell Westbrook bringing the ball up on the right side of the floor and immediately passing to the two-guard on the right wing. Durant is in the opposite corner and Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins are near the elbow.

After the pass, Westbrook cuts through the paint and Daequan Cook passes to Perkins on the three-point arc.

Westbrook then comes back up to the left wing from an Ibaka downscreen. The Thunder do this a lot either to then run pick-and-roll with Westbrook on the wing or to set up Durant coming off a downscreen.

On this play when Westbrook gets the pass from Perkins, Ibaka does not set a screen for westbrook and instead spaces the floor to the left corner. The next action the Thunder show is Perkins coming down to set a screen for Durant who is now on the right block. Another key to the play is Westbrook receiving the pass far outside the three-point line so that there is no defender in his face.

Durant acts like he is going to come up off the screen and goes backdoor. The timing between Westbrook and Durant on this play has been on point all season. Defenders often faceguard Durant when he’s working the baseline about to come off screens which makes it easy for him to slip backdoor. His defender is waiting to get hit with a Perkins pick instead of playing Durant straight up.

The scouting report on Oklahoma City is always to basically double Durant coming off screens and this makes defenders play Durant this way when he is running off them. On normal plays this usually opens up shots for Ibaka or Perkins after Durant catches the pass coming off a screen. When Oklahoma City moves their bigs to the perimeter for this play there is absolutely no help for Durant.

After this play is run successfully it helps Durant with the rest of his game coming off screens. His defender now is respecting his back-cut and can’t cheat as much up on him to make it tough for him to come off screens.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder topped off a great finish to the first half of the season Thursday night beating the Los Angeles Lakers at home 100-85.

The win gives the Thunder a 27-7 record on the year, tied with the Miami Heat for the best record in the NBA so far this season. Oklahoma City has won five games in a row now.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 33 points and six assists in the game. Durant got going early scoring 20 in the first half including a buzzer-beater with 0.8 seconds left when he stole the Lakers’ inbounds pass.

The Thunder scored five points in the final second of the first half with the first three coming via a Russell Westbrook three-pointer. Westbrook had just 19 in the game to go along with six assists and five rebounds.

Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka came to play tonight as they had a tough matchup with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The Thunder bigs combined for 14 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks in the game while Oklahoma City was without Nick Collison again tonight.

Perkins also played great defense on Bynum in the game and just did all of the little things that seem to go unnoticed. With 2:14 left in the game and the Thunder ahead by 10, Perkins out hustled everyone on the floor for an offensive rebound with three Lakers around him and kicked out to James Harden who put the nail in the coffin with the dagger trey.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

If Perkins’ defense on Bynum was good then Harden’s defense on Kobe Bryant was great. Bryant scored 24 points in the game on 7-for-24 shooting and Harden gave him fits all night.

The two, along with Durant, even got into it jawing back and forth late but it was clear that Harden outplayed the leading vote-getter of the Western Conference tonight. Harden would score 16 points but his impact was much greater controlling the pace of the game and releasing for easy buckets after strong contests on Bryant.

The Thunder have up just eight offensive rebounds to the Lakers and turned the ball over only 12 times. Oklahoma City also made Los Angeles look old with their 21-to-6 advantage on the fast break.

Oklahoma City will send three of their own to Orlando for All-Star Weekend beginning tomorrow night. Durant and Westbrook will play in the All-Star Game and head coach Scott Brooks will coach the West team.

Durant will also coach the Celebrity Game Friday night and compete in the Three-Point Contest Saturday night. Westbrook will be in the Skills Challenge on Saturday night as well.

The Thunder finished the first half versus the Lakers with a bang Thursday night scoring five points in the final second.

First Russell Westbrook came down and hit a three with Derek Fisher in his face with 0.8 seconds left. Then Andrew Bynum took too long to inbound and threw the ball away to Kevin Durant on the left baseline and Durant quickly tossed up a shot that went in before the buzzer.

The basket gave Durant 20 points in the first half and the Thunder a 46-43 lead.

Westbrook had 10 in the first half matching Kobe Bryant who also had 10 but on 4-of-13 shooting.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (4-game winning streak)
106.4 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.3 Defensive Efficiency (14th)
96.3 Pace (3rd)
57.0 True Shooting % (2nd)
51.4 Rebound Rate (5th)

Lakers (2-game winning streak)
100.9 Offensive Efficiency (14th)
97.8 Defensive Efficiency (10th)
92.3 Pace (23rd)
52.4 True Shooting % (13th)
52.4 Rebound Rate (2nd)

This is the first of three meetings between the Lakers and Thunder and with a sort of reversal of roles between the teams. The Thunder of course took Los Angeles to six games in the first round of the playoffs two years ago when the Lakers won the title.

Oklahoma City now sits atop the standings tied for the best record in the NBA while the Lakers have struggled overall this season.

The game will feature a matchup between the two leading scorers in the NBA in Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. Durant has been on a tear lately including a career-high 51 points last Sunday while Bryant struggled in the Laker’s 96-91 win last night over Dallas scoring only 15 points on 4-of-15 shooting.

A real weakness for the Lakers this season has been the point guard position. On offense and defense the Lakers have struggled in that area and Russell Westbrook won’t make things any easier for Los Angeles tonight.

The Lakers should have an edge when it comes to the offensive glass led by their two All-Stars Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The Thunder have struggled keeping their opponents off the offensive glass this season and that is a specialty for these two especially with knowing Bryant is going to jack up a ton of shots.

The Thunder have been playing as well as anyone this year however and should be able to pull this one out tonight. Durant will be a tough cover as always. Ron Artest used to be the guy that could give Durant the most trouble but two years later we’re now dealing with a completely different player named Metta World Peace.

Los Angeles won’t be able to match up with the second unit of Oklahoma City either. The Lakers are all about their Big Three this year then they drop off quite a bit while James Harden leads a potent bench attack for the Thunder.

Even if the game is close early expect the Thunder to be more consistent throughout and eventually pull away.