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| Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images |
Thunder's previous game: The Thunder held on in LA last Sunday against the Clippers, after giving up a sixteen point lead going into the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City's bench, for a lack of a better word, was mediocre at best.
Kevin Durant managed to score thirty five points despite shooting just 10-25, but managed to nail twelve of fifteen shots at the line. KD has been struggling with his shot in his last ten games, as he's averaging just 47% from the field, down from 50% on the season, as well as his scoring - down to 25.2 per game compared to 28.6 on the season.
The Thunder led by as many as nineteen points in the contest. The Clippers weren't taking care of the ball well at all, turning it over twenty one times for twenty four Thunder points. Oklahoma City took advantage of the Clipper's poor ball handling to help them build their nineteen point lead, but in the closing moments of the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter - things started to get ugly.
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| Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images |
LA went on a 14-6 run in the fourth quarter, a stretch where Oklahoma City combined for just 1-11 from the field, a perfect storm if will, to blow a big lead like the Thunder did. Matt Barnes had just hit a three with just 1:52 to play, cutting the Thunder's lead to just 96-99. Then Serge Ibaka smacked down on Blake Griffin's private area, being called for a Flagrant 1 foul, and potentially giving the Clippers a four point play. You can watch the incident here.
The Clippers would take a one point lead after Jamal Crawford nailed a 28 foot three with just 1:30 left to play. Russell Westbrook would mercilessly attack on the other end of the floor to convert a lay up and put the Thunder back on top 101-100. The Thunder would proceed to go on a 5-2 run to take a 106-102 lead with just 26.7 seconds left to play, and they would go on to win the game 108-104.
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| bleacherreport.com |
Last meeting with the Lakers: Thunder was on the last game of their 6 game road trip and lost in the final minutes of the game. Russell Westbrook was having a bad game shooting wise going 6-22 from the field which is very shocking to see Westbrook have a tough time shooting from the field. Even though he had 13 assists that game which is outstanding if he could have shot better from the 28 shots he took from the field Thunder would have likely of taken this game from the Lakers. Kevin Durant also struggled from the field, shooting 10-26 which is also incredibly shocking.
Thunders bench only scored 17 points, where the Lakers made 33 points from the bench, so if the Thunder bench can step it up compared to what they have been doing lately, they could drop the Lakers under 500 once again this season right after they just got up to 500 from being under 500 most of the season. If I was the Thunder I would keep two people on Kobe Bryant all game, he's usually the play maker for the team. Last game he went 8-12 from the field for 21 points 14 assists and 9 rebounds that's just insane.
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| bleacherreport.com |
Thunder started the 4th quarter off with the game tied 75-75. Thunder were doing good up till around 5 minutes left in the game. Thunder were allowing the Lakers to get too many free points, while the Thunder would consist of missing from the field and deep to make it hard to catch back up to the Lakers. Even though the Thunder did really good on fouls, only fouling 10 times compared to the Lakers fouling 14 times,
they just couldn't seal the deal. The Thunder only had 3 points in the last 3 minutes of the game, all 3 points being free throws, where the Lakers had 8 points in the final 3 points of the game, that's basically what decided the game for the Thunder. Lakers end up winning it (105)-(96). Hopefully the Thunder can come back this game with vengeance with them having the home court advantage.
Thunder Essentials:
Russell Westbrook - Russell Westbrook needs to do better than 39% from the field vs the Lakers if they're wanting to walk out with a win. Since the previous game vs the Lakers Westbrook has been averaging 26 points a game though, so he has improved and will hopefully score 30 points this game as he has past few games.
Parameter Defense - Thunder needs to improve their Parameter defense for this next game. Last game vs the Lakers they let the Lakers score 41% from the three and they only shot 25%. They can't leave men wide open and they must contest every shot.
Finish Strong - The Thunder need to finish strong this game vs the Lakers. Last time they met Thunder were neck and neck with the Lakers almost all 4 quarters, going into the 4th quarter they were tied 75-75 but the Thunder just couldn't hang on, while they had trouble shooting in the last 5 minutes of the 5th quarter and their defense being sloppy the Lakers end up winning by 9 points.
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