Right in the middle of a Laker win in game 2 of the series between Los Angeles and OKC, the Thunder managed to snatch a win away from the road team. Up 7 with 2:08 to go in the game, the Lakers basically choked away the game. There isn’t really a nice way to say it…mental mistakes and bad decisions (along with some incredibly athletic plays from the Thunder team) cost the Lakers a win they will very likely need if they want to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Instead, the Thunder will head into Los Angeles with a 2-0 lead in the series, and with the upcoming games 3 and 4 looming back to back on Friday & Saturday, it could spell a very quick end to the Lakers 2nd round playoff hopes.
While this game was marred by ugly fouls, cheap calls in general by the officials, and regular stoppages of play due to turnovers, it was played at a pace that truly favored the Lakers and their big frontline. And yet still the Lakers could not find a way to pull a win out in Loud City. Having done so would have changed the face of the series. A heavy underdog, and picked by almost no one outside of LA to win this round, the Lakers could have been heading home with a split of games on the road with a ton of confidence in their chances to prevail. Now…they are sent home to LaLa Land with what is rightfully called a sucker punch to the stomach of a loss. And may have also inadvertently provided confidence to Kevin Durant (with his late game floater over Bynum and Gasol proving to the winning basket.) And if you have watched KD as much as I have, you can only imagine how much more dangerous Kevin will be with his already crazy skill set bolstered by this confidence.
Game 3 is in Los Angeles on Friday at 7:30pm. You know where I will be…you should be watching too!
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