Kobe Bryant scored six of his 26 points in the second overtime and the host Los Angeles Lakers rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half for a 114-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to make only 14 of 56 shots (25 percent) in a possible second-round playoff matchup.
"It's not so much that we beat Oklahoma, but how we did it," said Bryant, who shook off his own woeful shooting game with two key 3-pointers late in regulation. "In the playoffs, particularly if you don't have home-court advantage, you're going to have games like this. We have to have the poise and the confidence to just keep chipping away."
Lakers forward Metta World Peace was ejected after elbowing the Thunder's James Harden in the back of the head while celebrating a dunk. The Thunder didn't immediately announce whether Harden, who had to leave the game, suffered a concussion.
"I got real emotional and excited, and it was unfortunate that James had to get hit with the unintentional elbow," World Peace said. "I hope he's OK. Oklahoma, they're playing for a championship this year. I apologize to the Thunder and James Harden. It was just unfortunate."
Bryant struggled through the first three quarters of his first home game since April 6 before coming alive down the stretch. He hit the tiebreaking fall-away jumper with 52 seconds left in the second overtime, followed by two free
throws as the Lakers hung on.Despite the loss, Durant passed Bryant in the race for the NBA scoring title. Durant, the two-time defending scoring champion, is averaging 27.906 points with two games to play, while Bryant slipped into second at 27.862 points per game with one game left.
Heat 97, Rockets 88: LeBron James had 32 points and eight rebounds, and host Miami pulled away in the final minutes to eliminate Houston from postseason contention.
The sellout crowd serenaded James with the obligatory "M-V-P" chants, which drew a wave from the star forward.
"It's very humbling, honestly," James said. "The fans have been amazing this year and they're going to continue to be amazing going into the postseason."
With two games left, the Heat (46-18) still has a mathematical chance of catching Chicago (48-16) for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Heat stars Dwyane Wade (dislocated finger) and Chris Bosh (fatigue in legs) did not play.
Knicks 113, Hawks 112: Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points, and visiting New York outlasted Atlanta.
The Hawks took their final lead at 112-111 on Joe Johnson's 3-pointer with 1:50 left. Anthony countered with a jumper 10 seconds later for the final margin.
Clippers 107, Hornets 98: Chris Paul scored 33 points, going 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:17 as Los Angeles defeated visiting New Orleans.
Spurs 114, Cavaliers 98: Manu Ginobili scored 20 points to lead host San Antonio past Cleveland for its seventh consecutive victory.
Kings 114, Bobcats 88: DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and Sacramento handed host Charlotte its 20th consecutive loss.
If the Bobcats (7-56) lose their final three games (at Washington, at Orlando, home against the Knicks), they will finish with the worst winning percentage in league history.
Nuggets 101, Magic 74: JaVale McGee scored 17 points, throwing down six dunks in the second half, and host Denver pulled away to beat Orlando.
No comments:
Post a Comment