Welcome to NBA247365.COM’s second-ever live blog! Check back often throughout Lakers/Thunder game five for my insightful thoughts and astute observations!
-Pregame: As if you needed another reason to love Charles Barkley, he just called Kobe’s recent criticism of Pau Gasol “B.S.,” stating that Kobe “threw it away” in game two and played “turr’ble” in game four. Truth.
-Pregame: More Charles: “When you do it the way you want to and you still lose, that’s not good.” That’s pretty much what I said after game two.
-Pregame: “Derek Fisher plans to eliminate LA,” says Craig Sager. He also plans to miss three layups and play bad defense.
-11:00 1st: Ramon Sessions has badly missed a three and a pair of free throws on LA’s first two possessions. He better get his sh!t together if he doesn’t want to be Kobe’s next scapegoat.
-8:10 1st: Kobe is playing very aggressively. He’s already taken three shots, made two, and picked up an energetic (yet regrettable) foul in the backcourt.
-6:46 1st: Russell Westbrook has picked up a technical foul and a delay of game. Reggie Miller says he needs to “channel his emotions.” Westbrook’s emotions only come with one channel, and it’s loud and obnoxious. It’s called MTV.
-4:44 1st: Andrew Bynum takes a seat with two fouls, and Serge Ibaka immediately gathers OKC’s seventh offensive rebound… and slams it home.
-4:16 1st: James Harden checks into the game, gets called for fouling Kobe on a jumper. He returned the favor, though, drawing Kobe’s second foul on a drive to the basket. The foul I called “regrettable” has just become “stupid.”
-1:45 1st: Kobe is now scoring buckets from outside the paint… with his left hand. He came to play today—15 first-quarter points—but he’s gonna need some help, ’cause the Thunder have established their tempo. Jordan Hill now has two fouls, which matters ’cause Bynum does too.
-0:00 1st: Did you know that the “25 Lighters” song performed by ZZ Top in that Jeremiah Weed commercial is actually an old-school Texas anthem from the legendary Screwed Up Click? You do now.
-0:00 1st: Instead of showing commercials for Adam Sandler’s new [read: terrible] movies, they should just show assorted 30-second clips from Billy Madison. T-t-t-today junior!
-11:35 2nd: Ramon Sessions blows a layup-line finish. Seriously, he had a clear path from five feet and still missed it. I’d say his struggles are taking a mental toll at this point.
-9:10 2nd: It’s been a few years now, but I still see Devin Ebanks and think I’m looking at Trevor Ariza.
-6:51 2nd: The Thunder are doing an excellent job of converting turnovers and bad shots into transition scores. The Lakers need to be careful not to allow this thing to get too up-and-down.
-5:24 2nd: Andrew Bynum picks up his third foul. It wasn’t a good call.
-3:34 2nd: Kobe just drove baseline and threw down a two-handed reverse dunk in traffic. It wasn’t quite the one on Latrell Sprewell, or the one against the T-Wolves, but it was f@cking nasty. Oh, and now he’s dunking again.
-1:17 2nd: Ron Artest’s offensive game has looked fairly fluid and effective over the past five minutes or so. I’d say OKC needs to ramp up their defensive effort, because Artest isn’t supposed to be looking competent.
-0:32 2nd: Ron Artest is called for a flagrant foul after nearly blocking Thabo Sefolosha’s layup attempt on a run out. There was a little body contact, but it was only a borderline foul, let alone a flagrant. As Artest told the referee, the call was bullsh!t. The Thunder are now shooting a series of technical free throws.
-Halftime: Lakers trail just 54-51 despite foul trouble and tempo issues. They’re actually in okay shape… they just need someone not named Kobe to step up and contribute some offense in the second half.
-11:09 3rd: Andrew Bynum picks up his 4th foul as he reaches in on a driving Kevin Durant. Poor decision by Bynum, but Mike Brown will leave him in the game.
-8:00 3rd: Thabo Sefolosha commits the cardinal sin of basketball as he saves the ball under his own hoop. The poor decision results in yet another Kobe Bryant dunk—his third, I believe.
-5:49 3rd: Kobe dunks again… off of a steal this time. He’s got 30 points now, and there’s a lot of time left in this close elimination game. He’s gonna take enough shots to drop 50, and the Thunder should be a bit concerned. All of his shots have been going in. Lakers up two.
-4:09 3rd: HUGE sequence of events for the Thunder: First, Nick Collison earns OKC their 12th offensive board by slamming a putback dunk, and then Russell Westbrook turns a Laker turnover into an and-one opportunity by throwing in a crazy, running shot.
-1:05 3rd: Kobe Bryant knocks down his first three in four games.
-11:03 4th: As the Lakers fail to score with Kobe on the bench, the Thunder extend their lead to 11 with a pair of tough jumpers from James Harden and Kevin Durant. Don’t expect Kobe to sit for much longer.
-9:25 4th: With a KD three and a Westbrook layup this thing has quickly gotten out of control from a Laker perspective. Now trailing by 16 points, LA hasn’t scored since the third.
-6:40 4th: Kobe drives to the rack and dunks another one. How many dunks is that, six? It’s got to be five or six.
-2:41 4th: Russell Westbrook hits a pull-up jumper to put OKC up 103-86. Russ has 28 points, and this game is over, folks. The Thunder somehow managed to play their own game while also beating the Lakers at theirs (14 O Rebs, 30 points on the break).
-1:05 4th: Royal Ivey sighting.
-FINAL: OKC 106, LAL 90: Pretty sure I just saw Ron Artest shake James Harden’s hand. Kobe Bryant finished with 42 points. Kevin Durant tells Craig Sager he doesn’t feel like the Spurs ever make mistakes. That’s cause they never do, Kevin. Good luck.
