NBA News Wire
Lakers 114, Thunder 110
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
LOS ANGELES — Guard Jodie Meeks scored a career-high 42 points, including 20 in the third quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-110 on Sunday at Staples Center
The Lakers (22-42) ended a three-game losing streak and handed the Thunder (46-17) their second straight defeat.
Meeks connected on 11 of 18 shots from the field, including 6 of 11 on 3-pointers. He hit all 14 of his free throws and had four steals. Meeks’ previous career-high occurred on March 27, 2012, when he scored 31 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Center Pau Gasol scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
Forward Kevin Durant recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Forward Serge Ibaka finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds and guard Russell Westbrook had 20 points and seven assists.
The Lakers grabbed their biggest lead, 95-77, after guard Jordan Farmar 3-pointer with 9:42 left in the game. But the Thunder rallied with a 20-7 run to cut the margin to 102-97 after back-to-back treys by guard Derek Fisher with 4:36 left.
Two free throws by Ibaka cut the Lakers’ lead to 110-105 with 1:19 remaining, then Westbrook threw down a thunderous dunk over forward Kent Bazemore to pull Oklahoma City to within three with 57.3 seconds left.
But Westbrook air-balled a 3-pointer, and a driving layup by Bazemore with 15.3 seconds left clinched the win for the Lakers, who hadn’t beaten the Thunder in more than a year.
The Thunder led 46-28 in the second quarter before Los Angeles went on a 21-5 run to close to within 51-49 after a basket inside by Gasol with 1:25 left. Meeks scored 10 points in the quarter. Oklahoma City took a 56-51 lead at intermission.
Meeks continued his hot shooting in the third quarter, hitting 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, with 4 of 6 coming from behind the 3-point arc. His back-to-back 3-pointers and two free throws and another trey by Farmar gave the Lakers a 82-72 lead with 2:08 remaining in the quarter.
A layup by Bazemore pushed the lead to 12 with 1:42 remaining in the quarter. A 29-7 spurt by Los Angeles lifted it to an 87-75 advantage at the end of the third. The Lakers outscored Oklahoma City 36-19 in the third.
NOTES: Oklahoma City outrebounded the Lakers 37-18 in the first half, including a 12-1 advantage on the offensive end. … Thunder F Kevin Durant on his visit Thursday with Muhammad Ali during the club’s road swing through Phoenix: “It was an unbelievable experience for me just to be in his presence,” Durant said. “It is something that is surreal just to meet a guy that has done so much and paved the way for people.” … The Lakers wore their Los Lakers jerseys in celebration of “Noches Latina,” a salute by the NBA to its Latin and Hispanic fans. … Los Angeles has given up an average of 136 points per game in its last three outings. … Lakers F Jordan Hill missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. … The two clubs meet again Thursday in Oklahoma City. The Thunder had won three straight entering Sunday’s game and 12 of the past 15.
