Thunder steal Game 4 victory from Lakers with 13-point comeback

By Mike James

May 19, 2012 12 AM PT

Kevin Durant made a three-point basket with just more than 13 seconds to play to carry the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-100 comeback victory over the Lakers in a critical Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series at Staples Center on Saturday night.

Durant scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter when the Thunder overcame a 13-point deficit to take a three-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series, with Game 5 heading back to Oklahoma City on Monday.

The game was reminiscent of the Thunder’s comeback victory over the Lakers in Game 2 in Oklahoma City.

Russell Westbrook, who led the Thunder comeback effort in the fourth, led all Oklahoma City scorers with 37 points.

Kobe Bryant, who scored 15 points in the third quarter, nearly willed the Lakers to victory with 38 points, but he couldn’t stall the Thunder comeback.

With Bryant sitting out the start of the quarter, Metta World Peace did his best Kobe impersonation and simply took over. He drained a three-pointer, went to the free-throw line and made one of two, made another three, then forced a jump ball with an aggressive defensive play under the boards, and the Lakers led, 89-78, with 8:19 to play.

Thunder Coach Scott Brooks implored his players to push the pace of play, but the Lakers had been getting back on defense and keeping the pace of the game just as they liked it.

As had been the case throughout, the Thunder managed consecutive scoring possessions when Durant made two free throws and Westbrook made an 18-footer to cut the Lakers’ lead to seven, but Steve Blake answered for the Lakers with a short banker as the shot clock expired to push the Lakers’ lead back to nine with 6:03 to play.

Then Westbrook went to work. He scored nine consecutive points for the Thunder, his 18-foot jumper with four minutes left cutting the Lakers’ lead to 96-92. The Lakers held their lead in part thanks to an impossible shot by Bryant, spinning and making an outside shot along the baseline with James Harden all over him.

Durant, pushing the ball upcourt, then went to the line for two free throws with 2:58 to play. He made both and at that point was six for six from the line in the quarter. After drawing a foul by World Peace on the Lakers’ next possession, Durant went to the line for the tie. He missed both.

Durant then made a baseline jumper over Bryant to tie the score and Kendrick Perkins picked the perfect time to make his first basket of the game on a put-back with 1:19 left to put Oklahoma City ahead, 98-96.

Bryant, who made only two of nine shots from the field in the fourth, then made two free throws to tie it again.

The teams inexplicably traded turnovers before Durant made the big three-pointer with 13 seconds to play to make it 101-98.

Lakers 80, Oklahoma City 71 (end of third quarter)

Kobe Bryant scored 15 points on an assortment of drives, turnaround jumpers and fadeaways -- including a long two-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer -- to keep the Thunder at bay and keep the Lakers up by nine after three quarters.

Russell Westbrook did his best to offset Bryant with 13 points of his own, but even with Kevin Durant adding a pair of three-pointers and two free throws, the Thunder simply couldn’t mount an attack that wasn’t answered by the Lakers.

Bryant assumed control early in the quarter, hitting two mid-range fadeaway jumpers, two free throws and a Kobe-esque baseline turnaround jumper for eight points as the Lakers maintained their 10-point lead, 68-58.

Oklahoma City was back to relying on its outside shooting, and three-point baskets by Durant and Westbrook, two free throws by Westbrook and a follow-shot and inside basket by Serge Ibaka enabled the Thunder to keep pace with the Lakers. But clearly, at that point, trading baskets would do nothing to eat into the Lakers’ lead.

Westbrook heated up once the Thunder fell behind by 12, twice driving hard to the rim for baskets and making a 10-footer. Durant followed that with a straightaway three-pointer to cut the lead to 74-67 and the Thunder called a timeout with 2:26 left in the quarter. Westbrook had 11 points in the quarter at that point; Bryant had 10 as the two guards clearly demonstrated why they are so important to their teams’ success.

Metta World Peace went to the line with 2:26 left in the quarter and made the first free throw. He missed the second but the Lakers got the offensive rebound and Bryant drove hard down the lane to push the lead back to 10.

Lakers 56, Oklahoma City 46 (halftime)

The Lakers bolted to a 10-point lead at the start of the second quarter, with Andrew Bynum making a baseline jumper, Steve Blake making a three-pointer from the left corner and Bynum dunking on another transition breakaway to make it 36-26, forcing a Thunder timeout.

Bynum, who had been two for 13 in Friday night’s Game 3 loss, was seven of eight for 14 points at that point. For most of the remainder of the quarter, the teams essentially traded baskets, with the Lakers holding on to a lead that didn’t drop below seven.

Ramon Sessions scored on two consecutive drives to extend the Lakers’ lead to 40-29 before former Laker Derek Fisher made a 15-foot banker and Russell Westbrook made two free throws to cut the Lakers’ lead to seven. Still, Oklahoma City was relying heavily on outside shooting, while the Lakers were mixing a more effective blend of inside and outside scoring to hold onto a comfortable –- if that is possible -- lead.

Midway through the quarter, the Lakers led, 45-35, their baskets coming on four inside shots, two three-pointers and a mid-range shot by Bynum.

Oklahoma City began trying to go inside, but a collapsing Lakers defense frustrated most of those efforts and kept the Thunder from cutting significantly into the lead.

The teams continued their remarkable free-throw shooting, each going four for four, until Jordan Hill made only one of two with a little more than five minutes left.

Scary moment at the end of the half when Westbrook slipped on the floor and went down while trying to avoid doing the splits. He stayed down for several seconds before the teams headed to the locker room for halftime. Players have been slipping frequently on the floor, the speculation being that the ice under the floor for Sunday afternoon’s Kings playoff game might have had an effect.

Big three vs. big three at the half:

Bryant 16 points, 5 rebounds; Bynum 14 points, 7 rebounds; Gasol 6 points, 3 rebounds.

Westbrook 14 points, 4 assists; Durant 12 points, 6 rebounds; Harden 10 points, 3 rebounds.

Lakers 29, Oklahoma City 24 (end of first quarter)

The Lakers wanted a half-court game; the Thunder wanted to run. How that played out could go a long way toward determining whether the Lakers or Oklahoma City would prevail in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series at Staples Center on Saturday night.

The Lakers got their way in the first quarter, keeping the Thunder out of transition and scoring a couple of baskets themselves on breaks. Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum each had 10 points, with the Lakers doing most of their damage inside.

Most of the Thunder’s scoring came from outside, seven of their 11 baskets were from the perimeter.

Midway through the opening quarter at the first timeout, the score was tied, 14-14, the teams playing at a pace that suited the Lakers. Aside from two free throws by Bryant, all the Lakers’ points came from right around the basket. Bynum had three point-blank baskets.

The Thunder was relying largely on its outside shooting, with Russell Westbrook hitting two outside shots and scoring on a drive down the lane and Serge Ibaka knocking down a couple of 18-footers.

It wasn’t until 4:13 remained in the quarter that the Lakers hit an outside shot, a 15-footer by Bryant, which was followed by a three-pointer by Metta World Peace from the top of the key to give the Lakers a 21-18 lead. The teams had never been more than two points apart until that point in a back-and-forth game that had been tied nine times.

Two more free throws by Bryant, a transition jumper by Bryant and Bryant’s full-court pass to Bynum for a layup gave the Lakes a 27-22 lead before James Harden made two free throws to cut it to 27-24. Bynum’s hook shot made it 29-24.

The Thunder leads the best-of-seven series, two games to one, with Game 5 on Monday night in Oklahoma City.

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