A late strike by Thunder sink Lakers, gave Celtic Victory
The Oklahoma City Thunder
scored nine unanswered points in the final two minutes to edge the Los Angeles
Lakers 77-75 on Wednesday and seize a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff
series.
There was no late drama in the Eastern Conference, where the Boston Celtics
trounced the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91 to move ahead 2-1 in their best-of-seven
series.Although the 76ers lost by a bigger margin, it will be the Lakers who will probably be suffering more due to the manner of their loss.
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum both scored 20 points as the Lakers led 75-68 with two minutes left and looked set to inflict a first defeat on the Thunder in the playoffs this year.
But Oklahoma then rallied with James Harden scoring four in those final minutes and Kevin Durrant five, including a soft floater to put the Thunder ahead with 18 seconds remaining, to leave the home fans ecstatic.
"We kept our composure," Durant told reporters after scoring a team-high 22 points. "We've been growing as a group at the end of games. This is the playoffs, every possession is important."
The Lakers had a chance to win the game but Steve Blake misfired on an open three-pointer with Los Angeles trailing by one with three seconds on the clock. Durant then landed a final free throw to add to the Lakers' pain.
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