LAKERS RIP THUNDER IN OKC

There’s an old axiom that suggests ‘winning on the road is never easy in the NBA’.  The Los Angeles Lakers might beg to differ, however, as they led wire to wire at Oklahoma City en route to a 107-89 victory over the Thunder that wasn’t even as close as the lopsided final score suggests.  With the victory the Lakers improved their NBA best road mark to 25-9 and kept pace with the Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers in the battle for the league’s best record.

Six Lakers scored in double figures, led by Kobe Bryant with 19.  Kobe played only three quarters before watching the final 12 minutes from the bench as the Lakers’ reserves logged some valuable minutes.  Lamar Odom added 18, with Pau Gasol posting a ‘double/double’ with 14 points and 14 boards along with 7 assists.  Reserve Josh Powell contributed 14 points, with Derek Fisher and Luke Walton adding 11 each. 

The Thunder also claimed six double figure scorers, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreadful performance.  Budding superstar Kevin Durrant led the team with 24 points, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.  Jeff Green added 12 points, Nenad Krstic 11 while Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison and Russell Westbrook chipped in for 10 points apiece.  OKC was notably tight lipped after the game, though Thunder guard Chucky Atkins proved the only perspective necessary with this observation:

"That's one of the best teams in the league right now. We have a young team, we're learning and we just got to move on."

Atkins assertion about the Lakers being ‘one of the best teams’ will get little argument based on their monstrous performance here.  Los Angeles came out smoking, leading by 17 after one quarter and by 24 at halftime.  The Thunder only managed to reduce that lead by a few points in the second half against the Lakers’ reserves.  Kobe Bryant suggested that he’s happy to take advantage of these opportunities to rest as long as the Lakers’ bench does their part:

"I don't really care about that (individual stats) too much. It's all about how well we're playing, if our bench comes in and holds our leads."

Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, clearly in the process of mentally preparing his team for the playoffs, complained about the loss of killer instinct in the second half:

“I think we played all right in the first quarter. After that, I think we just kind of toyed with the game. I didn't like that so much."

Los Angeles center Pau Gasol applauded his team’s early annihilation of the Thunder, but also stressed the importance of maintain focus and continuing to execute even with a seemingly insurmountable lead:

"We should try to do that more often, absolutely. I think it's something that shows character and consistency, and we haven't been able to do that as often as we should.”

"Hopefully when we get big leads, on the road especially, we can take care of the game and make sure you continue to execute and stay focused on what you need to do well every single possession and sustain the lead.” 

The Lakers are in the midst of a seven game road trip, which is off to a good start with wins in Chicago and Oklahoma City.  Los Angeles heads to the Motor City for a game against the Pistons on Thursday night, with a matchup against the New Jersey Nets on Friday.  They’ll face their toughest test of the trip on Sunday afternoon when they head to the Phillips Arena for a battle with the Atlanta Hawks who have won eight straight games at home.  OKC will also play their next three on the road with games at Toronto on Friday, Boston on Sunday and San Antonio on Tuesday.