(Sports Network) - The reeling Los Angeles Lakers hope a change of scenery can
get them back into their Western Conference semifinals set against Kevin
Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder followed a nice walk in the park in Game 1 of the set by stealing
Game 2 on Wednesday when Durant scored the go-ahead basket with 18.6 seconds
left as OKC closed the contest on a 9-0 run to beat the Lakers 77-75.
Durant snaked along the baseline on the right side and dropped in a one-handed
floater over Pau Gasol for the what proved to be the game-winner.
"I just tried to put some touch on it and it went in," said Durant.
Earlier in the game-ending run, Durant leapt in the LA backcourt to steal a
pass from Kobe Bryant, racing down for a fastbreak dunk, a fitting moment for
a "stolen" win as the Thunder head to L.A with a 2-0 lead in the series
despite trailing 75-68 in Game 2 with just two minutes left.
"All I told them was you're down seven -- you don't have to play perfect
basketball, but you have to be pretty close," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
Durant scored 22 points, Russell Westbrook had 15 and James Harden added 13
off the bench for the second-seeded Thunder, who were coming off Monday's 29-
point win in Game 1, when they led by as many as 35.
Durant and Harden scored all nine points on Oklahoma City's 9-0 run at the
end.
"It was a great comeback by them," said Bryant. "They got themselves a gritty
win."
After Durant's steal, the Lakers missed their last three shots of the game --
Bryant was off on a tough turnaround jumper and missed a three-pointer, while
Steve Blake also missed a three from the corner.
"The last two minutes we didn't do a good job of executing offensively and
defensively and that was the key to the game," said Lakers coach Mike Brown.
"They did what they had to do and got two wins and now we have to do the
same."
Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece to lead LA in Game 2 and Gasol
had 14.
"It's not good," Brown said. "I don't think anyone's happy in there [the
locker room]. It's a tough loss but we'll regroup and be ready to go Friday."
To get back in the series the Lakers will need more from Bryant. The veteran
superstar, who was the NBA's second-leading scorer behind Durant during the
regular season, has scored 20 points in each of the first two games but is
just 16-for-43 from the floor and a disastrous 1-for-9 from long range.
Brooks has frustrated Bryant by using throwing three athletic players, Thabo
Sefolosha, Durant and Harden, at him depending on the situation.
"There's not a lot of 6-foot-10 guys that you would throw on Kobe," Brooks
said of Durant. "He's a guy that can guard multiple positions, and it's
definitely a different look when you're used to a guy 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, and
all of a sudden 6-foot-10 comes on you."
Staples Center could be the tonic for the Lakers, however. Brown's team was
26-7 as the host in SoCal this season. L.A. is now fighting uphill though and
is just 2-17 all-time when losing the first two games of a best-of-seven
series.
"The reality of it is we were probably a little tired, not to use that as an
excuse," Brown said. We went seven (games in the first round), they went four.
We should have gone 4-0 and not had to deal with that, if that was an issue. I
thought we were a lot more physical, a lot more in tune in that second game.
At this point in the playoffs, if we can't sustain it, we don't deserve to
win."
Brooks, on the other hand, is trying to make his young team understand that
they haven't accomplished anything just yet.
"We've had some success (in) this playoffs so far, but it doesn't really
guarantee the next game results if you don't get the good effort and good
energy and teamwork," the OKC mentor said. "You have to understand that you
have to respect your opponent, and they're going to throw a lot of things at
us, and you have to be prepared."
These teams are very familiar with each other, having played three times
during the regular season. Oklahoma City won the first two contests by 15
points (at Chesapeake Energy Arena) and nine (Staples Center) before the
Lakers rebounded to win the final meeting in Hollywood by eight in double-
overtime.
In the playoffs this rivalry dates back to 1978 when the Oklahoma City
franchise was known as the Seattle SuperSonics. The Sonics beat the Lakers in
1978 and '79 when they reached the NBA Finals in both years. The franchise
hasn't beaten them since, losing in 1980, '87, '89, '95 and '98 as well as
2010 as the Thunder.
Game 4 of the set is scheduled for Saturday, also in Los Angeles.
The Sports Network