Young, Lakers sink Thunder in final seconds
LOS ANGELES -- Nick Young's 3-point bucket with five seconds left was the game-winner, boosting the Los Angeles Lakers to 111-109 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at Staples Center.
The Lakers (8-7) snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Thunder.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points to lead six Lakers in double figures. Young contributed 17 points, Timofey Mozgov had 16 points, and Lou Williams added 13.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 34 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, while Steven Adams finished with 20 points. Victor Oladipo chipped in 14 points, while Joffrey Lauvergne had 12 for Oklahoma City (8-7).
The Lakers grabbed their biggest lead, 97-83, after a dunk by Larry Nance Jr. with 6:44 left, but the Thunder rallied behind the shooting of Westbrook, who scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. Westbrook's 3-pointer cut the Lakers' lead to 108-105 with 1:38 left.
A dunk by Adams followed with 43.2 seconds remaining, pulling Oklahoma City within one.
After Nance missed a jump hook, Adams scored again on the other end with a put-back to lift the Thunder to a 109-108 lead with 13.9 seconds left before Young delivered.
The Lakers dictated for much of the second half until late in the game. They took a 78-69 lead after a pull-up jumper by Clarkson with 1:09 left in the third before a three-point play by Adams allowed the Thunder to close the gap to 80-74 heading into the final quarter.
The Lakers held a 29-16 edge after one quarter, but the Thunder outscored them 32-20 in the second to cut the deficit to 49-48 at the break. After a three-point play by Westbrook gave the Thunder a brief lead, Young's 3-pointer ended the half and put the Lakers back up.
Los Angeles played without point guard D'Angelo Russell, who was sidelined with a sore left knee. Russell also isn't expected to play Wednesday when the Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors.
Jose Calderon started in Russell's place, and he compiled 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes.
Lakers forward Julius Randle started despite being slowed by a hip pointer. Randle, though, was largely ineffective, finishing with three points, five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes.
NOTES: Lakers coach Luke Walton said he doesn't know the extent of the left knee injury that forced PG D'Angelo Russell to miss his second game in the last three. Russell is experiencing pain when he makes cutting moves. "Obviously, the more time he misses the more serious it seems to be, but I'm not going to try to guess or make a judgment on that," Walton said. "When the training staff and doctors let us know he's good to go he'll be back in there." ... Thunder reserve G Semaj Christon (concussion) was activated after missing Sunday's loss to Indiana. ... The Thunder visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.