(Reuters)
– The Oklahoma City Thunder delivered a blow to rival Metta World Peace’s infamous elbow by crushing
the Los Angeles Lakers 119-90 on Monday to win the opening game of the second-round playoff
series.
Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) is fouled by Los Angeles Lakers' Matt Barnes (9) during the second
half of Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semi-final basketball playoffs series in Oklahoma City May
14, 2012. REUTERS/Steve Sisney
In the first matchup between the
teams since World Peace struck James Harden with an elbow on April 22 to draw a seven-game suspension,
the Thunder hit back to take a 1-0 series lead.
Russell Westbrook had 27 points, nine assists
and seven rebounds in limited playing time, Kevin Durant added 25 as a rested Oklahoma City team ran
circles around the visitors.
“I just tried to come out aggressive, we hadn’t played in a while
and I had some good legs underneath me,” Westbrook told reporters.
The Thunder swept their
first-round series and had more than a week off while the Lakers just wrapped up a tough seven-game
series two days ago.
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum both had 20 points, but the Lakers fell behind
by 15 at halftime and the deficit ballooned to 30 in the third as the visitors struggled to cope with
Oklahoma City’s foot speed and athleticism.
A hostile home crowd booed World Peace throughout
the night but Harden said he did not let the elbowing incident interfere with his focus.
“(I)
put that stuff behind me and (went) out there to make plays for my team,” said Harden, who had 17
points to World Peace’s 12.
In the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia avoided a repeat of their
Game One flop and earned an 82-81 road triumph over Boston, outdueling the Celtics late to tie their
second round playoff series.
After blowing a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter to lose
the series opener on Saturday, the youthful 76ers again saw a late lead disappear but this time they
refused to buckle and tied the best-of-seven series 1-1.
Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 18
points while Evan Turner made a go-ahead scoop shot with 40 seconds left and added two key free throws
during a rugged struggle that heated up in the final quarter.
Ray Allen had 17 and Kevin Garnett
added 15 and 12 rebounds and made a three-pointer as time expired to shave the final
deficit.
Game Three is on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
(Reporting by Jahmal Corner in Los
Angeles; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
