Thunder 120, Lakers 85
LOS ANGELES -- Point guard Russell Westbrook had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, forward Kevin Durant scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds and forward Serge Ibaka added 17 points and seven rebounds, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-85 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Reserve center Enes Kanter contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds, while guard Andre Roberson chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds as the Thunder (20-9) prevailed for the ninth time in 10 games. They also blew out the Lakers for the second time in five days, this one coming on the heels of a 118-78 beatdown Saturday in Oklahoma City.
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting to lead the Lakers (5-24), who were playing the second game of a back-to-back. They defeated the Nuggets 111-107 in Denver on Tuesday night. Backup point guard D'Angelo Russell finished with 18 points.
Bryant missed Saturday's game with a sore shoulder, but he tried to make up for it Wednesday, scoring 17 of his points in the first half. However, the Thunder overwhelmed him and the Lakers in the second half.
The Thunder used a 22-0 run to open the third quarter to blow the contest open. The Lakers didn't score in the quarter until Bryant converted a layup at 6:21. By then, Oklahoma City held a commanding 79-48 advantage.
Los Angeles held serve for almost a half. Bryant, who scored 13 points in the second quarter, hit a jumper to give the Lakers a 44-43 lead with 4:05 left before intermission. However, the Thunder closed the quarter on a 14-2 spurt for a 57-46 cushion at the break.
Oklahoma City outshot Los Angeles 55.8 percent to 38.3 in the first half. Much of that was due to the Thunder's domination inside, where they outscored the Lakers 38-12 on points in the paint. They also had a 14-2 edge on fastbreak points.
Overall, the Thunder made 53.7 percent of their shots to 36 for the Lakers.
The Lakers played without reserve guard Nick Young (gastroenteritis) and forward Julius Randle (ankle).
NOTES: Defense sparked the Thunder's recent run. They gave up an average of 105.2 points per game in the opening 14 games of the season and allowed opponents to score at least 100 points in 11 of those. In the previous 14 contests before Wednesday, Oklahoma City limited the opposition to 93.9 points per game. Only twice had the opposition reached the 100-point mark. ... The Lakers lost the season series in four consecutive seasons prior to this one. Before the 2011-12 campaign, they had captured six straight. ... Both teams host Christmas Day games. The Thunder will play the Chicago Bulls at Chesapeake Energy Arena, while the Lakers face the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.