OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ― Russell Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the weary Los Angeles Lakers 119-90 on Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Thunder took a 15-point halftime lead, then opened the third quarter with a 15-2 blitz filled with crowd-pleasing 3-pointers and dunks.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 35 points, getting a measure of vengeance for the elbow Metta World Peace delivered to the head of the Thunder’s James Harden three weeks earlier ― and without needing dirty tactics to do it.
Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins limped off after aggravating a hip injury from the first round.
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points each for the Lakers and Bynum had 14 rebounds.
The Thunder committed a franchise-record four turnovers.
Two games after trailing by as many as 28 points in a blowout loss in Game 6 in Denver, it got even worse for the Lakers. They responded to that loss by beating the Nuggets 96-87 in a thrilling Game 7 on Saturday night.
They’ll need another big bounce back for Game 2 in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
While the Lakers were making a quick turnaround less than 48 hours after ending the first round, the Thunder had eight full days off following their first-round sweep of defending NBA champion Dallas.
It got out of hand just after halftime, in highlight-reel fashion.
76ers even up series
BOSTON (AP) ― Evan Turner made the go-ahead layup with 40.4 seconds left and Philadelphia held off Boston the rest of the way with six straight free throws as the 76ers evened the second-round Eastern Conference series with an 82-81 victory Monday night.
Turner finished with 10 points, including his layup that put the Sixers up 76-75. He added two free throws with 12 seconds to go.
Jrue Holiday scored 18 points and Andre Iguodala added 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Sixers, who blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won Game 1.
Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Ray Allen scored 17 points for the Celtics.
Game 3 is Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia won its first playoff game in Boston since 1982 despite committing a playoff-high 19 turnovers and getting outrebounded 47-36.
Spencer Hawes finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and Lavoy Allen scored 10 points for the Sixers.
Brandon Bass had 12 points for the Celtics, who couldn’t quite repeat their comeback in the series opener.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
