Thunder Crush Lakers 131-102
By Randy Renner
10 seconds into the game the Lakers and Jodie Meeks probably started thinking, 'uh-oh' we're in for a different kind of game.
Just last Sunday Meeks scored a career high 42 points and the Lakers beat OKC 114-110. Thursday night, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks switched things up a bit going with rookie Andre Roberson instead of Perry Jones in the starting lineup.
10 ticks of the clock into the game Roberson stole the ball from Meeks on LA's first possession, quickly passed to Russell Westbrook who slammed home the first two points of the night.
"I thought Dre came in and gave us some good energy, made it tough for Meeks early on," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks after the game.
The Thunder would go on to score 129 more points for a season-high 131 in blistering the Lakers who managed to put 102 on the board.
Meeks finished with a much more pedestrian 19 points this time and it took him 15 shots to get there. Pau Gasol had 20 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday and 14 and six Thursday.
The Thunder defense again rose to the occasion holding the Lakers to just 39.4 percent shooting and OKC obliterated them on the boards 60-37.
When L.A. head coach Mike D'Antoni was asked about the discrepancy on the boards his answer was simple, "Probably because they’re longer, taller, stronger, faster and better jumpers than we are and we missed a lot more shots.”
On the offensive end, most everything was humming. The Thunder had a 50-40-90 night. Shooting 50.6 percent (45-for-89) overall, 43.3 percent (13-for-30) on 3-pointers and 93.3 percent (28-for-30) from the free throw line.
Individually, The Thunder Big Three had huge nights. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each had 29 points, Westbrook also dished nine assists and Serge Ibaka had his 24th double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks.
"Serge has really been good," Brooks said. "He's having a good year. I think this is a stretch where we're seeing more growth. He's chasing down shots, altering them, blocking them. He's getting rebounds, he's spotting up, he's driving. It was an all-around game for Serge."
And an all-around game for the Thunder.
"It's really fun, especially when we win," Westbrook told a crowd of reporters in the Thunder lockerroom. "As long as we continue to win and continue to do a good job of playing together and everyone is in a good groove, I think we'll be alright."