Thunder Get Pay Back On Lakers, Win 131-102
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points apiece, and the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged Sunday's surprising loss to the Los Angeles Lakers by rolling past them 131-102 Thursday night.
Westbrook shot poorly against Lakers on Sunday, but he made 9 of 17 shots and had nine assists in 23 minutes in the rematch.
Serge Ibaka added 15 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks for the Thunder, who won their second straight and climbed within half a game of San Antonio for the top record in the Western Conference.
Lakers guard Jodie Meeks, who scored a career-high 42 points on Sunday, was held to 19 on 6-for-15 shooting. Kent Bazemore scored 16 points and Pau Gasol added 14 for the Lakers.
Los Angeles allowed at least 131 points for the fourth time in five games.
The Lakers trimmed an 18-point deficit to 11 in the second quarter before Westbrook returned from a brief rest to ignite an 13-1 run that gave the Thunder a 52-29 lead.
Oklahoma City led 60-46 at halftime. Westbrook had 14 points and six assists in 15 minutes and Durant had 13 points. The Thunder outrebounded the Lakers 33-16 in the first half and held them to 37 percent shooting.
Durant, who rarely gets into foul trouble, picked up his fourth with 10:16 left in the third quarter. Ryan Kelly hit a 3-pointer with 7:30 left in the period to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 69-58, causing the Thunder to call a timeout. Oklahoma City's Caron Butler hit a 3-pointer right out of the short break and Ibaka followed with a midrange jumper to boost the advantage to 16 points. Westbrook drained a 3-pointer to push Oklahoma City's lead to 23 midway through the quarter, and Westbrook wore a broad smile as the Lakers called timeout. By the time Durant re-entered the game, Oklahoma City led 90-68.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, Ibaka swatted a shot by Xavier Henry and the Thunder rebounded. Butler hit a 3-pointer in the final second of the period to push Oklahoma City's lead to 101-77.
NOTES: Thunder G Andre Roberson, who has spent much of the season in the D-League, got his fifth start. ... Westbrook scored nine points in the first four minutes, including a dunk to start the game. ... The Thunder shot 57 percent in the first quarter and led 33-19 at the end of the period. The Lakers shot just 31 percent in the first 12 minutes. ... Butler had 11 points and six rebounds on his 34th birthday. ... Durant was issued a technical foul with 23 seconds left in the first half.
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