Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant last night beating them 106-90 in Game 5 to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Kobe did not go down without a fight scoring 42 points, taking 33 shots and recording zero assists.

After the game Kobe was asked about if he felt this loss was the ending of an era.

“I’m not fading into the shadows,” Kobe said. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere.”

Kobe, now at age 33 and in his 16th season in the NBA, is up against maybe the toughest opponent ever for him: time.

There is no competitor in the league today quite like Kobe. It’s tough to bet against him but he might not be able to overcome the wave of young stars now standing in his path of tying Michael Jordan with his sixth ring.

Kobe had a remarkable season this year. In a lockout condensed 66-game schedule, he somehow stayed healthy all year for the most part, nearly won the scoring title and led the Lakers who were somewhat a shell of their championship teams a few years ago to the 3-seed in the Western Conference.

Kobe looked as good as he has in a long time. It’s not enough anymore. It never really was for Kobe. He’s always needed help. He doesn’t have enough anymore.

There’s going to be a lot of talk surrounding this Lakers team in the offseason. Should they trade Andrew Bynum? Should they trade Pau Gasol? Should they blow the whole team up?

One thing is always certain and that is that Kobe will remain a Laker and always be their alpha dog. And it seems there is only one player out there that could possibly help him toward catching Jordan in rings: Dwight Howard.

Kobe has always needed help and Howard is the man for the job, the most talented big man in the league who doesn’t know what the hell he is doing. A perfect fit with Kobe.

Howard hurt his image as much as possibly fathomable this season and now in Orlando he has gotten rid of their head coach and general manager. He has one year left with the Magic and it seems very unlikely he’ll be there any longer.

Centers in Howard’s position have always chosen the Lakers. Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal all became Lakers around this point in their careers. Howard doing the same would be more than fitting.

After the season Bynum had and they might as well throw in Gasol too, Los Angeles should be able to pull off bringing Howard in to join Kobe and make a few last runs at an NBA title.

Kobe is right. He isn’t done. He’ll play another 5-7 years probably. But if he doesn’t want to go away from championship relevancy, Howard is his only hope.

This was the Thunder winning. Not the Lakers losing.

The Thunder played as the experience-heavy ones, the ones that knew how to play with composure on the biggest nights of the season. Oklahoma City’s stars didn’t have to be prodded to play hard before it was too late. They played sleek and scrappy. The Thunder became the Lakers.

That may get lost outside of the state in the next few days. While the newly eliminated Lakers are dissected nationally for their failures, the Thunder will go silent while prepping for Sunday in San Antonio and the start of the Western Conference finals.

But the Thunder made this happen.

Last night felt like the end of an era for the Lakers – Bill Plaschke, LA Times

As the red and blue streamers dropped from the sky around the fallen Lakers faces, it felt like more than the end of a series.

With “Takin’ Care of Business” thumping and thousands rhythmically clapping around the staggering Lakers bodies, it felt like more than the end of a season.

What happened here on a strange and sad Monday night felt like the end of an era.

Kobe Bryant’s window to win a sixth championship in Los Angeles may have officially shut, and who knows whether he will want to stick around to spend his final years pressing his nose against the glass?

Russell Westbrook loved beating the Lakers – Darnell Mayberry, The Oklahoman

Russell Westbrook no longer could contain his emotions.

So he stopped trying.

When the time was right, he let loose, celebrating unlike we’ve ever seen him, jubilantly yet violently swinging his arms, one at a time, through the blissful air inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

There couldn’t have been a more appropriate celebration.

Credit the Thunder Bigs – Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman

Without Perk, Serge and Nick, there’s a good chance this series would be headed back to Los Angeles for another game. There’s a good chance the Lakers would’ve had new life. There’s a good chance this series would’ve gone seven games.

Instead, it’s so LA-LA-long Lakers.

“I thought they were the big three,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of Perk, Serge and Nick. “The Lakers’ bigs are as good of bigs as there are in basketball. They’re skilled. They’re big. They’re long. They block shots.”

And Monday night, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol didn’t determine the outcome of this game or this series.

Kobe really had an impressive season – Matt Moore, CBS Sports

Bryant battled through this season the only way he knew how. A shortened lockout season, a new system being built on the fly, a roster hit by moves aiming for a new financial reality, and a new coaching staff that didn’t always flow or connect with its players. And he did what he knows how to do. He scored. He threw in 40-point night after 40-point night, and while he was rarely efficient, it was what he felt the team needed.

It brought all the same arguments about Bryant. How can he not be the best player in the league if he’s dropping 40 points night after night? How can he continue to gun this way with two 7-footers on his team? How can he throw his team that far out of rhythm? How can his team continue to fail him when he leads by example this way? It is the never-ending debate of Bryant and his legacy, wrapped in the shine of five championship rings and miles of controversy.

The great players in this league divide fans, divide media, divide the basketball world. Kobe Bryant did it as much as ever in his 16th NBA season.

He did it his way. The only way he knows how. The Kobe way.

Metta World Peace’s flagrant foul in Game 5

Russell Westbrook’s crazy shot in Game 5

8 hurt in OKC shooting after the game

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-90 in Game 5 to win the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 28 points while Kevin Durant chipped in with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant went down shooting as he finished with 42 points on 33 shots.

The Lakers simply did not have the legs to keep up with the Thunder in this series and it really showed in Game 5.

The Thunder outrebounded Los Angeles 51-35 in Game 5 including 14 offensive rebounds.

Oklahoma City turned the ball over more than any team in the NBA this season averaging just over 16 per game but cut that number in half in this series against the Lakers.

The Thunder were also one of the most isolation-heavy teams in the league this year but had 20 assists on 42 field goals tonight.

James Harden provided a fantastic lift off the bench scoring 17 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists.

The Thunder did most of their demoralizing damage on the break scoring 30 fast break points in the game.

The Lakers were unable to take advantage of their inside play of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the series. The Thunder were able to play both big men straight up luring Kobe into trying to go off alone every night.

Kobe got his and the Thunder were fine with that. They knew they could beat a one man show because they had three guys who were going to get theirs.

The Thunder deserve to celebrate winning eight of nine games so far in the playoffs and doing it against the two teams who won the past three NBA titles but there work is far from done.

The San Antonio Spurs are playing better than any team in the NBA right now and will be waiting to play the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs are a perfect 8-0 in the playoffs so far and haven’t lost a game since April 11. They will have home court in the series and played the Thunder well this season.

The Thunder and Spurs will begin the Western Conference Finals this coming Sunday at 8 p.m. EST for Game 1.

Russell Westbrook scored 12 points in the third quarter including this and-one shot on a fast break.

The Thunder lead the Lakers 83-77 after three and have captured all of the momentum heading into the final quarter.

Westbrook leads the Thunder with 20 points while Kevin Durant has poured in 17.

Kobe Bryant has scored 34 for the Lakers.

Metta World Peace picked up flagrant foul when he fouled Thabo Sefolosha hard from behind on a fast break.

World Peace and Kobe Bryant would then pick up technicals disputing the call resulting in four free throws for the Thunder.

The Thunder leads 54-51 at halftime and really hasn’t played all that well.

James Harden leads the Thunder with 13 points off the bench to go with four assists and five rebounds. Kevin Durant has scored 12 points.

Kobe leads the Lakers with 19 points and had 15 of those in the first quarter.

The Lakers are shooting 48.7 percent from the field but the Thunder are getting it done with 10 offensive rebounds and also have 13 assists on their 20 field goals.

After being called out by Kobe after game 4, Pau Gasol has come out more aggressive tonight scoring 10 points in the first half. Andrew Bynum, however, has been anything but into this game and has scored just seven points and taken four shots so far.

The game is closer than most expected coming in with many predicting the Thunder would blow out the Lakers. There is still time for this and the game does have the feel to it that the Lakers are ready to give in especially if the Thunder can put together a nice little run soon.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a chance tonight at home to close out the Los Angeles Lakers and move on to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season.

The Thunder are up 3-1 against the Lakers after coming back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit in Game 4 in Los Angeles.

The Thunder ended Game 4 on a 13-4 run to stun the Lakers crowd culminating with a very clutch Kevin Durant 3-pointer in the final seconds.

After the Thunder blew out L.A. in Game 1, the Lakers got their act together and really have played well in the past three games.

Kobe Bryant was a machine at home getting to the line 35 times and causing tremendous problems for the Thunder defense.

Kevin Durant was forced to switch onto Kobe in the final minutes of Game 4 and did a very good job using his length to make scoring more difficult for Kobe than it has been lately.

When Game 4 looked like it was the Lakers’ to win, Thunder fans were just itching to get back home and have this Thunder team look like the one that swept Dallas and blew out L.A. in Game 1.

Tonight, Oklahoma City gets to return to their comfortable arena and behind what will undoubtedly be a rowdy crowd, they should give the Lakers their best stuff.

The Thunder are unlikely to let this series slip away up 3-1 but they certainly don’t want to return to the Staples Center and risk this series possibly going to a seventh game.

The Lakers are championship tested however and should also give it all they’ve got in OKC tonight. Kobe called out Pau Gasol after Game 4 so expect a better game from Gasol who has bounced back already in these playoffs after bad games like he did in Game 7 against Denver.

The Thunder have weathered the storm of a former champion playing hard while facing elimination already in the first round.

The Dallas Mavericks led OKC at home by 13 heading into the fourth quarter of Game 4 facing elimination before James Harden scored 15 in the fourth and led the Thunder back to win the series.

The biggest change when this series went to L.A. was the calls favoring the Lakers. At home, the Thunder should start to see the calls swing back their way and if that is the case, it should become nearly impossible for the Lakers to pull off the upset.

The Thunder want to get this series over with as soon as possible too now that the San Antonio Spurs are waiting for them in the Western Conference Finals after completing the sweep of the Clippers last night.

The Thunder don’t have to win tonight but they don’t look at it that way and that’s why the Thunder have been so good all year long and why they should win tonight.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder has learned to come back and win games late – Darnell Mayberry, The Oklahoman

All postseason, Oklahoma City has closed out games in grand fashion. The Lakers, in Game 4, simply became the latest victim of the Thunder and its ability to storm back from a fourth-quarter deficit and secure a win.

That trait, not Westbrook’s explosiveness or Kevin Durant’s daggers or James Harden’s surgeon-like precision in the pick-and-roll, has been the most impressive thing about the Thunder’s playoff run thus far.

Oklahoma City is now all grown up.

Scott Brooks on closing out the Lakers

“To beat the Lakers, you have to play well. To beat ‘em, you have to do a lot of things well. You have to prevent them from doing things well. They’re a great team, a great organization. We know we have a big challenge ahead to close out a team. Nobody wants to go home early. We know the Lakers are a championship-level team. They’re not just going to give us game four. We have to win game No. 4. We know it’s always tough to close out a team, especially a team with championship DNA. A guy with Kobe on their team is not going to give up.”

Bill Simmons on James Harden – Grantland

To James Harden, who gave us the most important moment of Round 1: Game 4 in Dallas, when Harden drove the dying Mavs to the veterinarian’s office and put them down himself. Oklahoma City’s ceiling before that game: “If Westbrook and Durant aren’t making jumpers, there’s no Plan B.” Oklahoma City’s ceiling after that game: “Actually, there is a Plan B — they can just turn things over to Harden, let him create for everyone else and keep going to the rim.”

Oh, and just in case you worried that performance was a fluke, Harden repeated it against the Lakers in Game 2. That spawned an “Is Harden an original prototype?” e-mail thread with me and two die-hard NBA buddies — we finally decided that he has a chance (repeat: a chance) to become Ginobili 2.0, an even more athletic/durable/potent lefty two-guard who gets better when it matters. It’s in play.

Durant strikes balance when shooting aggressively – Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com

It was Durant at his cold-blooded finest, stepping up to meet the moment, in the face of adversity on the road, firing daggers at the opponent. But he was so wrong.

No one able to pass a competency hearing is going to criticize Durant for taking a terrible shot. That wouldn’t happen on any serious level, not with all the good will he has built up with his lethal offensive game and his personality. It’s not taking shots that will get him into trouble.

Durant has made commendable strides this season as a distributor, expanding his arsenal of ways to water board an opponent. The Thunder love it because the new look makes them tougher to defend and create a third playmaker, along with Russell Westbrook and James Harden. It’s just that every other team likes it more.

Anything that gets Durant out of scoring mode is a good thing for the rest of the league, and it is impossible for Oklahoma City and even Durant himself to deny he is still trying to find the right balance between being unselfish and being too unselfish. On those nights when too unselfish becomes blending in the background while waiting for teammates to seize a moment, the Thunder have real problems.

Kobe and Pau: It must be the end of an era – Kevin Ding, Orange County Register

Bryant has tired of having to prop Gasol up time and again. Bryant did it often last season in pursuit of a third consecutive title on a bad knee and before Bynum was ready, offering the compelling Natalie Portman-inspired narrative that Gasol is too often the “white swan” instead of the “black swan.” Like the movie, it didn’t end well.

This season, Bryant has still believed that Gasol can come through when it matters most. Bryant’s public request that the Lakers stop dangling Gasol in the trade market was him believing Gasol needed that support to persevere. When I was comparing the very night before the March trade deadline the emerging Bynum and Bryant to the regular one-two punch of Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant, it was Bryant who digressed to say: “We still have Pau.”

Thunder rise in clutch while Lakers wilt

On the flip side, Durant’s heroics will obscure a larger and more important story for the Thunder: the continued emergence of James Harden as a crunch-time weapon. Harden wiped out Dallas down the stretch of Game 4 in the Thunder’s first-round sweep, and when Durant wasn’t dunking or hitting floaters in the final minutes of last night’s game, the Thunder leaned on Harden to create out of the pick-and-roll. On the three Oklahoma City possessions that sandwiched Durant’s clutch steal-and-dunk, Harden blew by Bryant and Bynum (jumping too early against the screen) on one pick-and-roll for a layup, got into the lane on another before missing a shot at the rim and scored a layup in transition.

Durant and Westbrook look like Jordan and Pippen

Russell Westbrook scored 37 points while teammate Kevin Durant added 31 in the Thunder’s 103-100 win at Staples Center. It was the first time two teammates scored at least 30 points in a playoff road win over the Lakers since June 12, 1991, when Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan scored 32 and 30, respectively as the Bulls wrapped up their first NBA title with a win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at the Great Western Forum.

Russell Westbrook: An L.A. story

Durant’s defense on Kobe

Tim Duncan scored 21 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks in another throwback Duncan game.

Duncan had a great series against the Clippers averaging 21.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting .594 percent from the field.

Chris Paul finally had a decent game for Los Angeles scoring 23 points to go with 11 assists but it wasn’t enough.

The Spurs were by far the superior team in this series and are frankly by far the best team in the NBA right now. The Spurs haven’t lost yet in the playoffs as they also swept the Utah Jazz in the first round and haven’t lost at all since April 11.

The Spurs will await the winner of Oklahoma City and the Lakers. The Thunder currently lead the series 3-1 with Game 5 tipping off tonight at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Kobe made his share of mistakes but played the best of any Lakers player in the last two games. He scored 38 points last night and has attempted 35 free throws in the last two games.

Kobe’s aggressiveness isn’t an issue but he thinks Pau Gasol’s is.

“Pau’s got to be more assertive,” Kobe said. “He’s the guy out there that we need. When he’s getting the ball he’s looking to pass. He’s got to be aggressive. He’s got to shoot the ball. He’s got to drive the ball to the basket and he will in the next game.”

Before Kevin Durant made the game-winning 3-pointers, the Lakers had the ball with the score tied at 98 and a chance to regain the lead.

Kobe and Gasol played the pick-and-roll and a double team forced Kobe to pass to Gasol who received the ball wide open from about 12-feet from the hoop.

Gasol bizarrely decided not to shoot and instead attempt a skip pass to Metta World Peace on the opposite wing which Durant intercepted.

“It was just a bad read,” Kobe said. “It was just a bad read on Pau’s part. It happens.”

In the final minutes of Game 4, the Thunder really turned up the intensity on defense. They hadn’t been doing a good job of stopping the Lakers all night but were able to completely turn that around on the final possessions.

Gasol seemed to become indecisive because of this and it resulted in the costly turnover. The Lakers will certainly need more from Gasol if they are going to come back from this 3-1 deficit and beat the Thunder in the series.

But it was Durant’s defense on Kobe Bryant in the final four minutes of the game that really swayed the momentum in the Thunder’s favor.

Kobe made a 17-foot fadeaway over James Harden from the right baseline to put the Lakers ahead 96-90 with 4:28 left in the game. Durant started covering Kobe after that shot.

“He said, ‘You get ‘em,’” Durant said of head coach Scott Brooks telling him to start covering Kobe. “I had to go guard him. I couldn’t tell Coach no. I didn’t want to back down from the challenge.”

Kobe missed his next five shots and only scored two more meaningful points the rest of the game.

Kobe had 34 points before Durant started guarding him and was for the second straight game killing the Thunder on offense in the post and getting to the free throw line.

Durant played Kobe some at the end of Game 3 and was effective then as well. Brooks probably saw this and knew it would be a good matchup for the Thunder at this point in the game.

“He wants to guard him,” Brooks said. “We like putting Thabo [Sefolosha], James [Harden] and Kevin on him. It was about three and [a] half minutes to go, and I made the decision. I thought that was the right thing to do at the time. Kobe was making shots like he always seems to do, but I thought Kevin did a good job of using his length and bothering him.”

Durant’s length is key to stopping Kobe. He is listed at 6-foot-9 but most people know he’s probably closer to 7-feet. With Kobe not having the quickness he used to, Durant doesn’t even lose anything guarding Kobe in that department either.

Kobe was having the most success getting physical with those defending him and fighting for position. He was getting a lot of foul calls on these plays in the last two games and it made defenders like Harden and Sefolosha have to be more tentative when contesting his shots.

Durant didn’t have to worry about playing physical. He could play off him and force him into tough, contested jumpers which he did.

“It was pretty much the same thing, except in the fourth quarter they crowd me and they shrink the floor,” Kobe said. “The driving lanes close off. [Serge] Ibaka’s more active coming off of rotations. But when you have the ball with the shot clock going down, it’s tough to get everybody in the right spots.”

Durant’s improved defense this season has been overlooked somewhat until last night. He has become more focused and engaged defensively and when he really locks in, he can be extremely effective on a number of elite players.

In the Thunder’s first meeting with the Miami Heat this season, Durant played and essentially shut down LeBron James in the same way that he did Kobe last night.

It is unlikely that Brooks would ever elect to have Durant cover Kobe for an entire game. But using him down the stretch on him to change things up and make Kobe alter his approach in crunch time is something we should expect again if another game comes down to the wire.

Kevin Durant showed the world again why he’s the most clutch player on the planet Saturday night.

With the ball in his hands and the game tied at 98, Durant walked into a 25-foot 3-pointer a la Rucker Park to give Oklahoma City the lead for good.

The Thunder would hold on to win the game 103-100 and take a commanding 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 Monday night.

The Thunder were behind for almost the entire game before finishing the game on a 13-4 run in the final 4:15.

Durant’s three was the most clutch moment but it was his defense on Kobe Bryant in the final minutes that really was the reason why the Thunder came back.

With 4:28 left, Kobe made a 17-foot fadeaway over James Harden to put the Lakers up 96-90. Bryant would miss his next five jump shots mostly with Durant on him.

Bryant finished with a game-high 38 points on 12-for-28 shooting from the field and made 14-of-17 free throws.

Durant scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds in the game but Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 37 on the night and was 15-for-26 from the field in the game.

Westbrook really carried the Thunder offense in the second half while Durant had a hard time getting looks and getting to the line and Harden didn’t have his usually rhythm either.

The Thunder shot 49.4 percent from the field in the game and attempted just four less free throws than L.A. The Lakers did outrebound Oklahoma City by four including 18 offensive rebounds.

For the second time this series, the Thunder steal a game that the Lakers should have won. That’s what this team does this season. You have to beat them for 48 minutes.

The Thunder are now up 3-1 in the series and will host the Lakers Monday night for Game 5.

Russell Westbrook went down with an injury after slipping while running down the court just before the end of the first half of Game 4 vs. the Lakers.

A lot of players have been slipping in this game and it may have something to do with the fact that there is ice beneath the court because of the NHL Playoffs.

Westbrook looked to possibly hurt his groin or hip but this guy hasn’t missed a game since before high school, Thunder fans shouldn’t be too worried.

The Lakers lead 56-46 at the half. They are again getting a few more calls than the Thunder and doing a better job getting the 50-50 balls, something that the Thunder usually holds the edge in.

The style of the game again is favoring the Lakers but the Thunder have all year long played in games like this where it feels like they shouldn’t win and then they find a way to pull the game out. See Game 2.

Russell Westbrook is fine. It was his hip. He got manual treatment at the half and will return.

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) May 20, 2012

The Spurs trailed the Clippers 33-11 after the first quarter and it looked as if they would finally lose in these playoffs.

The Spurs went on a 24-0 run in the third quarter and outscored Los Angeles 26-8 in the third quarter to get back in the game, take the lead and eventually win the game.

San Antonio is now up 3-0 in their series with the Clippers and still yet to lose in the playoffs.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and 10 assists while Tim Duncan also had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Chris Paul was very quiet again scoring just 12 points with 11 assists and was 5-for-17 from the field. Paul is averaging 9.3 points, 8.7 assists and shooting .308 percent from the field in the series.

The Spurs haven’t lost a game since April 11 and continue to look and play like the best team in the NBA.

Up 3-0 in this series they are almost certainly advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they will play either Oklahoma City or the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Thunder and Lakers will play Game 4 tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST with the Thunder up 2-1 in that series.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder finally lost a game in these playoffs 99-96 last night to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3.

The Thunder were 6-0 before last night and while every loss hurts, losing at least once was inevitable for this Thunder team in the playoffs.

Kobe Bryant shot 18 free throws in Game 3 and made them all. Lakers fans will describe this as Kobe relentlessly attacking the rim while Thunder fans see it as Kobe getting way too many calls.

The game was called tight throughout with a lot of ticky tacky calls being made out on the perimeter. At the end of the game those calls were going more toward the Lakers’ favor which was unfortunate for the Thunder and also has to do with their style of play.

When a game is being called close on the plays where players are jockeying for position, it favors the team that plays more with their back to the basket.

The Thunder were all pick-and-roll down the stretch with James Harden a lot and Kevin Durant some too. They got their fair share of calls in the game but not when they needed them.

The Lakers would wind up shooting 41-for-42 free throws in the game and only made 11 field goals in the entire second half.

Kobe finished with 36 points to lead the team.

Andrew Bynum who has some success in the first two games scoring down low was only 2-of-13 last night but 11-of-12 at the line for his 15 points.

If the Lakers are going to win tonight they will need better efficiency from the field from Bynum and Pau Gasol.

The Thunder are going to need more from Russell Westbrook to turn this series back around and heavily in favor of Oklahoma City.

Westbrook holds the biggest matchup advantage against the Lakers and needs to get his midrange shot going early on tonight. He tried that in Game 3 but over aggressiveness found him an early seat on the bench.

Westbrook was really nowhere to be seen down the stretch too and while that sometimes feels good because it means more Harden and Durant, against the Lakers the Thunder are going to need more from him like in Game 1.

It is unlikely that the game tonight will be called as closely as Game 3. We’re not going to see 70 free throw attempts again.

The Lakers have their confidence back now though. It shouldn’t matter though because at the end of the day, talent always wins out and that’s good news for the Thunder.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers made 41 free throws as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-96 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, went 9-for-25 from the field and 18-of-18 at the line to lead the Lakers.

Kevin Durant had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds but did not get the roll as he was forced into a tough 28-footer over two defenders. Durant finished the game with 31 points to lead the Thunder.

The game was called close from the start. Like Game 2, the referees were not letting the players play too much and it resulted in a ton of foul calls and a lot of them off the ball.

James Harden picked up three fouls in the first half for the second straight game after providing the Thunder with a much needed lift in the first half to get them back in the game. Harden scored 21 points in the game and made 11-of-12 free throws himself.

Russell Westbrook stripped Kobe and went in for a fast break dunk with 2:54 left to put the Thunder ahead 92-87. The Lakers would made 10 more free throws after that play to come back and win.

Westbrook found himself switched onto Kobe after an offensive rebound by Los Angeles and bit on a Kobe baseline ball fake that resulted in a huge trip to the charity stripe where Kobe put LA back up 95-94.

The Thunder ran Durant in a pick-and-roll on the following possession and he ended up passing to Serge Ibaka in the corner for a contested jump shot. Durant got the offensive board but was then stripped by Metta World Peace with 12 seconds left.

Oklahoma City could have won this game and had opportunities to close it out. The bounces and calls didn’t go their way down the stretch though and that can be all it takes sometimes.

The loss if the first this postseason for the Thunder. The Thunder get a chance to act some revenge on this loss tomorrow night. The tip will again be at 10:30 p.m. EST.

The Thunder showed part of why they are such a great team in the first two games of this series. They won both games and did so in two completely different types of games.

The Thunder took Game 1 in blowout fashion winning 119-90 and running the Lakers off the floor. Then in Game 2, the Lakers were winning for most of the game and it was terribly low-scoring before the Thunder scored the final nine points of the game to steal the victory.

Winning Game 2 like that is a sign that this Thunder team is growing up. They didn’t win those types of games a year ago and here they are now 6-0 in the Playoffs and having won three games that they weren’t supposed to.

The Lakers should be better at home these next two nights but it won’t be easy for them to win two games in two nights against the young legs of the Thunder.

In Game 1 everything went right for the Thunder and they were making their jump shots at a very high rate. That went away some in Game 2 as the Thunder just didn’t look to have much rhythm for the game in general.

Kevin Durant only took 15 shots in Game 2 and Russell Westbrook went 5-for-17. James Harden got into foul trouble in the first half which also contributed to the loss of good rhythm for the team.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol looked better but it is still clear that the Thunder bigs can handle the two Lakers bigs. Serge Ibaka in particular played a great Game 2 blocking seven shots.

Kobe Bryant has continued to not shoot the ball well from the field against the Thunder. He shot 30 percent against them in the regular season and went 9-for-25 in Game 2.

More will have to go right for the Lakers than for the Thunder for them to win, no matter home or away.

There were some good signs for the Lakers in Game 2 but nothing that says they will now comeback to win the series.

We will see tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST as the teams will tip in Staples Center.

The Thunder have been doing this all season. Their talent wins out more often than not and they are able to suddenly turn up their play when their backs are against the wall and win games.

This wasn’t the case last year though and was sort of the knock on this team. They gave up some big leads last year in the Western Conference Finals against Dallas and looked young and inexperienced in doing so.

This year they are starting to look like those teams that are ready to start winning titles. They’re looking like the ’91 Bulls or the ’00 Lakers. They’re hungry and more talented than anyone else and are figuring out the best way to win games.

We saw it again last night with James Harden becoming the primary ball handler down the stretch. The Thunder’s jump shots simply were not falling and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were able to get shots going to the rim.

So the Thunder called on Harden to do this and while he had a few turnovers, it was the right decision to make and turned the tide of the game.

The Thunder trailed 75-68 with 2:08 to play in the game. They didn’t let the Lakers score again and scored the final nine points of the game themselves.

Durant and Westbrook forced turnovers on the next two possessions on what should have been simple passes for the Lakers. Harden blocked Kobe’s shot and then the Lakers missed their final two 3-point attempts.

The Lakers got this lead playing solid defense and establishing their inside presence on offense. It was nowhere to be found late in the game and Kobe’s hero ball doesn’t work against the Thunder especially when Thabo Sefolosha is checking him.

This is now three games so far in the playoffs that the Thunder should have lost but they are a cool 6-0 instead.

This team is starting to feel like they are destined to make the Finals this year. They have the talent to back it up too.

The Thunder trailed 75-68 with 2:08 left to play in the game. The Lakers did not score the rest of the way.

Kevin Durant made a 7-foot runner with 18 seconds left to put the Thunder ahead 76-75.

The Lakers had a chance to take the lead on the next possession and elected to go with an open Steve Blake in the corner shooting a 3-pointer. He missed the open look and the Thunder rebounded the miss and sealed the victory.

Durant didn’t shoot a lot in the game but led the Thunder with 22 points and also had five assists and seven rebounds.

Russell Westbrook, who was the biggest matchup issue for the Lakers in Game 1, scored just 15 points in Game 2 and went 5-for-17 from the field.

Despite trailing in the fourth and not a lot happening on offense, Oklahoma City went with James Harden as the primary ball handler down the stretch. He came through with some tough lay-ins and finished the game with 13 points.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with 20 points apiece in the game. Bryant again was not efficient going 9-for-25 from the field.

This was a game that the Thunder should not have won and would not have won a year ago. This team is different though. They know how to tough out games like this. With their backs against the wall they rise to the occasion.

Game 3 will be Friday in Los Angeles with Game 4 the next day on Saturday. Los Angeles isn’t excited to play back-to-back at their age and the Thunder should have no problem taking at least one on the road.

The Thunder won Game 1 by an impressive 29 points and played near perfect basketball.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Russell Westbrook scored 27 points to lead the Thunder. Both were on their game and focused early on shooting very well from the field.

The Lakers tried to establish their inside game early and did a decent job of doing so but were unable to sustain it and once the game was out of hand it no longer mattered. Assuming the Thunder don’t shoot quite as well as in Game 1, Andrew Bynum’s 20-point, 14-rebound performance could be an issue for the Thunder to deal with.

Kendrick Perkins is a game-time decision tonight after re-aggravating his right strained hip in the third quarter of Game 1. His defense on Bynum and Pau Gasol will be much needed for the Thunder to win again.

The Thunder don’t need to double-team anyone on the Lakers including Kobe Bryant. Bryant shot 30 percent against Oklahoma City in the regular season and scored just 20 points in Game 1.

Thabo Sefolosha can get up into Bryant enough to make it difficult and without the same first step from earlier in his career, Bryant has to settle for more jump shots and is less effective.

The Thunder play great at home and while it will be tough for them to exactly replicate Game 1 they should still win again. A loss is a loss but a 29-point blowout says something more like the Thunder are the superior team in this series by far.

World Peace and Harden have been connected ever since World Peace connected with a vicious elbow on Harden late in the regular season. World Peace was suspended seven games and returned to the court for the second time in Game 1 in Oklahoma City Monday night.

World Peace said he wouldn’t shake Harden’s hand before the game because he doesn’t shake “substitutes’” hands. As fate would have it, the two were matched up often during the Thunder’s 29-point Game 1 win.

This elbow wasn’t as bad by World Peace but a sign that he isn’t backing down in any way from his characteristic physical style of play.

World Peace even seemed more locked in while hearing the boo birds making two 3-pointers in the opening quarter of Game 1. World Peace also hurt the Thunder while playing against the second unit that Harden leads by banging down low and using his strength.

Harden and the Thunder got the best of the Lakers in Game 1 and Harden played well himself. He scored 17 points and was aggressive getting to the line 10 times and making nine of those attempts.

Expect Mike Brown to look to continue putting World Peace on the court when Harden is out there. The Thunder often go small with Harden in and he essentially is matched up with forwards when he is in.

The Lakers don’t go small much and usually start Pau Gasol in the second and fourth quarters at the four. The Lakers had success with Gasol and World Peace out there with their second unit and that will mean more of World Peace and Harden guarding each other.

As of right now it seems to be the only edge LA could have going inside to World Peace. If some of these next few games are close and resemble physical playoff basketball, don’t be surprised if World Peace and Harden continue to exchange chippy plays.

The Thunder were playing their first game in nine days after sweeping the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and they did not look rusty at all. It was clear they would be eager to get on the courts but sometimes that can result in less than sharp play.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were more than up for the challenge last night though. They had a game plan coming into the game and executed it to perfection. They shot extremely well from the field but they worked hard to get good looks and they were shots they usually are hitting.

The amazing thing is that it felt like the Lakers didn’t play that bad, at least on offense. They were doing a good job of getting Andrew Bynum going early inside and they were also taking advantage of the mismatches Metta World Peace presented.

While this was going on and the Lakers were warming up into their game, the Thunder was surging past them, focused and poised for the kill.

It’s no secret now how talented this Thunder team is. They are young but have three bonafide stars in Durant, Westbrook and Harden. They are three of the best scorers in the entire league and can all do it in slightly different ways.

They’re surrounded by great role players who know their role very well. Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka have no problems playing the Lakers bigs straight up and Thabo Sefolosha can essentially lock up Kobe Bryant on the perimeter.

Kobe shot just 30 percent against the Thunder in the regular season and the defense of Sefolosha has a ton to do with it. Kobe doesn’t have the same first step he used to and Sefolosha has the “student of the game” feel to him the way he approaches his assignment with Bryant.

The great thing about the Lakers usually is they have three players that are extremely difficult to handle on offense. Not for the Thunder though. This is the biggest reason why OKC may sweep LA.

The Thunder come to play every night. They have all season long and that’s one of the best things about this team. They’re good and know they’re good and aren’t interested in wasting any time not getting better.

A loss is a loss even if it’s by 29 points. If there’s a team that can probably shrug off this kind of loss it’s probably the Lakers but the Thunder smell blood right now. They know how to beat this team and take advantage of their strengths.

So that’s what’s going to happen. OKC will win this series and do so impressively because that’s who they are. There are still some legitimate doubts about the Thunder winning a title this year but they won’t come up during this series.

The Thunder thrashed the Lakers to the tune of a 29-point blowout victory.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made it look easy scoring 25 and 27 points, respectively. They combined to go 18-of-31 from the field and 13-for-14 at the line. Westbrook also finished with nine assists and seven rebounds.

The Thunder were focused from the start and it showed as they turned the ball over a franchise-low four times in the game.

Kendrick Perkins started the game and looked fine until he seemed to reinjure his hip on a dunk in the third quarter and left for the locker room.

Oklahoma City started off strong but the Lakers countered early taking advantage of their size down low.

Andrew Bynum got started early with 10 points and five rebounds in the first quarter. He would finish the game with 20 points and 14 boards.

Metta World Peace heard the boos once he entered the arena but it seemed to motivate him more than anything as he hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and played well getting position down low over smaller Thunder defenders.

World Peace did have an incident during the second half when he got tangled up with James Harden and took him down with another near elbow to the head.

Harden played great though for the Thunder scoring 17 points and getting to the line to make 9-of-10 free throws.

The greatest strength for the Thunder against the Lakers is that they don’t have to double team Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol. Kobe scored a pedestrian 20 points in the game on 7-of-18 shooting.

It looks as if Thabo Sefolosha will have no problem checking Kobe for the rest of the series and while the Lakers bigs had some success in the game it simply did not faze the Thunder.

Oklahoma City shot extremely well in the game but they were also getting a lot of open shots for them. The Lakers are going to really have to change their defensive game plan to slow down the Thunder who had everything seem so easy on offense.

It’s just one game but a 29-point victory feels like it means more. It was a statement win and a message not just to the Lakers but the entire league. The Thunder aren’t playing around anymore. They’re ready to win a title.

The Thunder and Lakers will play Game 2 Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. EST.

The Thunder are eager to get back on the court but are also thankful for the rest so that their starting center, Kendrick Perkins, could rest after injuring his hip in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks. It is still uncertain if he will play tonight.

The Thunder have been taking steps very quickly over the past few years toward becoming a true title contender. They made it to the Western Conference Finals last year, swept the defending champs in Round 1 and now will look to take that next step beating the mighty Los Angeles Lakers.

The Thunder are favored in this series and should be. They’ve been one of the best teams all season long really coming to play each and every night while the Lakers are a team known to take nights off.

The Lakers had their ups and downs in their first round series against the Denver Nuggets who took them to seven games. The Lakers were able to take advantage of their considerable size advantage in the final game and close out the pesky, energetic Nuggets.

The Lakers will not have that luxury now in Round 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Big Men

The play of the bigs in this series is going to be one of the most important matchups to watch. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are both All-Star caliber players but don’t always play like it.

The Thunder don’t get much offense from their bigs but Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison are all very vital to the team’s success and will be even more so in this series.

Perkins’ status is still uncertain but very crucial for the Thunder. They traded for Perkins last year for this specific matchup with the Lakers and for his defense on Bynum.

Perkins averaged 26.8 minutes per game in the regular season but played 36.0 minutes per game in three meetings against the Lakers.

Ibaka will also be very important and not just on defense. He led the league in blocks and finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and has had success against the Lakers in the past.

Ibaka had a sort of coming out party is rookie season in the playoffs against the Lakers blocking seven shots in one of the games. Ibaka is always an X-factor for the Thunder and if the Thunder can get him some scoring opportunities as well it will bode well for Ibaka’s confidence on both ends of the floor.

Ibaka had the impossible task of guarding Dirk Nowitzki in Round 1 so it will be somewhat easier checking Gasol now who hasn’t been playing his best ball of late.

In three games against the Lakers this season, Ibaka averaged 12.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks. He steps up his game against L.A., there’s no question.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is going to need to be huge in this series to ensure a Thunder victory. The Lakers do not have the point guards to matchup with Westbrook and he will need to take advantage.

Westbrook had a nice series against Dallas and reverted to sort of a defensive stopper as the series progressed, shutting down Jason Terry. He won’t be asked to play as much defense against the Lakers however.

The litmus test for Westbrook’s game is always his midrange pull-up jump shot. It was on point against Dallas as he noticeably was shooting it with better form. He’s going to be able to get to his spots and take that shot in this series. Whether or not it is going in early on will tell you a lot about how he will play.

When Westbrook is not making that shot he gets out of rhythm and less under control and begins forcing drives and throwing his body at those protecting the paint. He can have success doing this too and getting to the line but it will be a tough challenge against the Lakers and Bynum and Gasol.

We may see Kobe Bryant on Westbrook some in this series too and he did a nice job against him in the last regular season meeting between these teams. Westbrook went 3-for-22 in that game and gets out of sorts against defenders like Kobe or even Dwyane Wade.

It is unlikely however that the Lakers will want to put Kobe on Westbrook too much because they are going to need him to be more efficient on offense.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe shot just 30 percent against the Thunder in the regular season. He’s been playing better of late but the Thunder have more to throw at him than Denver did.

Thabo Sefolosha can play Kobe straight up without a double team which will lure Kobe into becoming a high-volume shooter at times and that’s what Oklahoma City wants.

Kobe was very clutch at the end of the last meeting between these teams and hit a ton of big shots and the Lakers might be able to count on him in situations like that. But since Oklahoma City should be able to contain the Lakers bigs it will be up to Kobe to be a more efficient scorer for them or for the role players to really step up, but that seems even more unlikely.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant vs. Metta World Peace

Kevin Durant is going to be important like he always is for the Thunder but it won’t be the prettiest we see him play, that’s for sure.

Metta World Peace has always done a solid job on Durant and physical defenders usually have the most success against him. Durant really struggled in the playoffs two years ago against World Peace but he has improved in that department since.

The Thunder did a lot of posting up of Durant in the first round and against World Peace that will be a tough thing to rely on. He is in the best shape he has been in awhile and unless referees are really bailing Durant out, it’s unlikely he will be too productive from there. Durant has a long way to go with his post game and he might be more effective looking to score from the perimeter in this series.

Durant – like Westbrook – really struggled from the field in the last game the Thunder played the Lakers. But he got a ton of open jumpers that he normally doesn’t miss. Durant has been more locked in during the postseason and if he’s getting those looks consistently in this series, points will come very easy to him.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Beard

James Harden went to another level in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks scoring 15 points in the final quarter to help the Thunder erase a 13-point deficit and win.

Thunder fans will know though that Harden has been at this level all season. The key is that the Thunder are willing to go to him down the stretch even with Durant and Westbrook on the floor with him.

Harden is certainly the biggest X-factor for the Thunder. We all know what happened the last time he stepped on the floor with Metta World Peace so don’t think Harden won’t be extra motivated in this series.

While Harden was needed to step up against the Mavericks it may not be as necessary against the Lakers mainly because Westbrook should be having a big series offensively. Harden will still be needed to be a reliable 3-point shooter and run the offense well with the second unit.

The Crowd

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the best crowd in the NBA. They aren’t going to be too welcoming toward Metta World Peace when he is announced as a starter for Game 1 either.

This probably won’t do much to World Peace (you know, because he’s insane), but some extra rowdiness will be a great thing for the Thunder players.

The Thunder may not come out as sharp as usual with such a long layoff in between games so having the crowd on another level will be a great advantage for the Thunder to avoid losing one of these first two games.

The Verdict

The Thunder should win this series and if the Lakers didn’t have Kobe and didn’t have the history, no one would be questioning the outcome.

Everything is happening so fast though for the Thunder. They are still so young and no matter how talented you are, there are growing pains. If Kobe can miraculously lead this Lakers squad to upset the Thunder it wouldn’t be totally unbelieveable.

That shouldn’t happen though. Not to this Thunder team. They may still have some growing pains ahead of them before they can win a title but that’s not going to be now.

After beating these Lakers on the grand stage that it will be on, whoever has to play OKC in the next round should be a lot scared of them.

Perkins strained his right hip in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks on May 5 – an injury that would normally have a player out for 10-14 days. It is nine days later now and the Thunder are finally going to play again, with or without their starting center.

“He went through some of the drills (Sunday) in practice,” Brooks told The Oklahoman. “He’s taken a step in that direction (starting on Monday). We’ll see how he responds after the day’s work tomorrow morning. We can assess that better. He did participate in some of the work today.”

Perkins is the definition of tough so if there is any chance that he can play, he probably will. At his position too he may be alright at 75-80 percent because the Thunder don’t ask too much from him aside from banging bodies down low.

Perkins will be needed in this series against the Lakers maybe more than against any other team. The Thunder traded Jeff Green to the Celtics last season for Perkins for this specific matchup against L.A.

Nick Collison thinks Perkins will be “good to go” and said he “looked good” in practice yesterday.

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World Peace elbowed James Harden in the head at the end of the regular season and was dealt a 7-game suspension for the act. He returned to action for the first time since the incident Saturday night for the Lakers’ Game 7 win against the Denver Nuggets.

World Peace never apologized to Harden in any way unless you count Twitter and still stands by saying it was an accident when it clearly wasn’t.

World Peace now has caused some more stir with his recent comments about Harden and the Thunder.

“I don’t shake hands with substitutes,” World Peace said. “I shake everybody’s hand before the game, but Oklahoma City, they don’t shake hands. Only some of them, but I don’t think they really shake hands before the game. Kendrick Perkins and now (Russell) Westbrook don’t shake hands either. (Russell) used to shake hands, but now he don’t shake hands anymore.”

World Peace thinks he’s making a jab at Harden because he comes off the bench. Like the Sixth Man of the Year winner isn’t talented enough to start in this league or something.

Harden said earlier this week on the Dan Patrick show that he won’t look to shake hands with World Peace before the game either or speak to him at all.

The stage is set for the Thunder and Lakers. There are many storylines and the return of World Peace against this team is at the top of the list.

One thing is for sure is that the Thunder are going to come out very motivated against this team not just because of World Peace. They’ve been on a mission all season and one of the hungriest young teams in the league.

They know that knocking out the Los Angeles Lakers is part of taking that next step to becoming a championship team.

By the end of the series I’m sure that the Lakers and their fans will wish that World Peace would have elbowed Harden just a little bit harder.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Kendrick Perkins has been a crucial part of the Oklahoma City Thunder all season. His value doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet but it’s definitely there.

Perkins injured his right hip in the first quarter of Game 4 vs. Dallas on May 5 and did not return in the game. The injury would normally keep a player out 10-14 days.

The Thunder will play the Lakers in Game 1 of the conference semifinals tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. EST, Monday, May 14. That’s nine days since the injury making it seem unlikely that Perkins will be at 100 percent tomorrow night.

He could still play though if he’s not at 100 percent as it is playoff basketball. He was last seen Friday afternoon at the Thunder practice walking without crutches and with no noticeable limp. This type of injury would not necessarily make you walk different but when you are in the game running, getting into a defensive stance and banging is when it would be noticeable.

The Thunder made a tough decision last season to trade Jeff Green to Boston to acquire Perkins. They did it for this specific matchup with the Lakers. They lost to Los Angeles the year before in the first round and it was clear that they needed to get bigger to compete with the then two-time defending champs.

In Game 7 against Denver, the Lakers flexed their sizable advantage as Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined for 39 points, 35 rebounds (20 offensive) and 10 blocks. Denver doesn’t have the size that Oklahoma City would have even without Perkins but Gasol and Bynum are going to be quite a load to handle either way.

Perkins averaged 26.8 minutes per game this season but against the Lakers three times he averaged 36.0 minutes. He played well against L.A. averaging 6.3 points, 9.0 rebounds (3.3 offensive) and shot .571 percent from the floor.

Bynum averaged 16.3 points, 11.0 rebounds (3.7 offensive) and shot .444 percent from the field against the Thunder this season. Gasol averaged 18.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and shot .465 percent from the field.

The Lakers’ big men produced against the Thunder this season and needed to partly because of Kobe Bryant’s struggles. Kobe averaged 24.3 points against OKC and shot .307 percent from the field.

The Thunder won two of the three meetings this season against the Lakers and nearly swept them falling in double overtime in the final meeting. The shooting percentages of the Lakers big three were all considerably lower than their averages against the Thunder.

Without Perkins, the Thunder would likely start Nazr Mohammed and continue with their rotation bringing Nick Collison off the bench. Expect the Thunder to go small as much as possible too. Gasol usually starts the fourth quarter without Bynum on the floor so expect Scott Brooks to try and take advantage of that lineup by starting Kevin Durant in that quarter as well.

The Thunder will have a much tougher time matching up with the Lakers if they are without Perkins or he is playing much less than 100 percent. They should still be favored to win the series and win it without question.

The Lakers have much bigger issues in terms of matching up with Oklahoma City’s big three and that advantage for the Thunder should be enough for them to win the series.