With Pau complaining of overall soreness and fatigue after his first game back, it was a good thing the Lakers had a few days off in between games. Would the extra time off help contribute to a Lakers win? One thing is for sure- the Lakers offense was a completely different beast with Pau in the lineup, and we should continue to see that tonight.

First Quarter: LAL 35 -- OKC 16

The Lakers started out the first on fire- an early 16 to nothing run had the Thunder reeling. I think Nenad Kristic bald spot’s circumference actually increased by 3 inches during this run, and he was quickly benched. With Pau back in the lineup for his second game, the Lakers are running the offense to perfection with 9 assists on the first 9 baskets. On top of the near perfect offense, the D was definitely on point. Artest was all over Durant the entire quarter. Even when Pau was taken out of the game, the Lakers D kept smothering the Thunder and led to turnover after turnover. Towards the end of the quarter, Kobe started to turn it on and hit some really nice shots in the post- including a ridiculous behind the backboard fall-away that had Pau flipping out on the bench. Shortly after this ridiculous shot, Kobe decided he wasn’t done humiliating the rest of the NBA and he hit a left-handed runner at the buzzer. Oh yeah, he had 4 assists and 3 rebounds to go along with 13 points. Clean.

First Quarter Notes/Highlights:

- Kobe’s flat shot/Ridiculous Shots: Kobe’s deep jumper was incredibly flat, but around the basket he was killer with an array of trick shots and acrobatic layups
- Andrew inside (rebounds and points): He was able to dominate inside without any resistance from the weak Thunder bigs. It was childs play around the basket and I’m honestly shocked they didn’t find him more often.
- Lakers Defense: Holding the explosive Thunder to 16 points for the quarter is definitely nice and something I hope to see continue. Throughout the first the Lakers had them on their heels with aggressive, physical play.

Second Quarter: LAL57 – OKC 34

The second started out with the same type of play from the Lakers that we saw throughout the first. Kobe was on the bench along with Ron and Andrew. Phil, as he said, shook up the rotation and subbed in Morrison and Brown with Lamar. This was an incredibly quick lineup that was able to stretch the lead to 22 early in the quarter. A few defensive missteps and bad shots allowed the Thunder to put up an 8-0 run, but overall the Lakers shook-up second unit held strong. Once Kobe checked in, he quickly received a T. You have to love when he goes into fierce Mamba mode- would you step up to him when he gets like that? Sometimes I feel sorry for the refs, but Kobe has been taking a beating this season. Quickly after the non-call that he got the T on, Kobe was basically stabbed in the eye while trying to create in the paint… tough call to see but at least he’s okay. The Lakers closed the quarter strong and really put the clamps down on the Thunder.

Second Quarter Notes/Highlights:

- The Play of Farmar: Aggressive offense and hitting the open J (early season consistency)
- Lakers 3PT Shooting: Horrible. That’s all I can say. If this team wants to realize its full potential, someone is going to have to start hitting threes. Is he on this team right now? I’m not sure…
- Artest: Timely shooting and consistent defense; if he does this the rest of the season, I’m content.
- Lakers Defense: Two quarters of brilliant defense. If we did this every night, we would win every game.

Third Quarter: LAL79 – OKC58

Ice-Cold would be a great way to describe the Lakers coming out of the locker room- 1/6 shooting compared to 3/8 for the Thunder. Horrible shooting or not, the Lakers were able to retain the lead and stay in control throughout most of the quarter. Bynum was again product inside, and Ron’s defense on Durant has to be mentioned again- he’s living in his jersey. A lot of back and forth went on for the rest of the quarter, with missed shots by the Lakers and turnovers by the Thunder. Kobe hit a few more ridiculous shots (a beautiful fade along the baseline and a great reverse layup around the rim), and the Lakers closed the quarter strong again.

Third Quarter Notes/Highlights:

- Andrew Bynum: 9-11 shooting at this point and and absolutely dominant inside. The only thing that I’m dying to see from him is a meaner presence around the rim.
- Kobe Bryant: His deep shot may not be falling, but his midrange and post game has been on point throughout this game. The turnaround jumpers he’s hitting are unfair.

Fourth Quarter: LAL101 – OKC85

Shannon Brown?

The fourth started out with another great give and go set between Pau and Kobe, leading to Kobe converting the And-1 layup for a 23 point Lakers lead. One thing to note is the play of Sasha, or rather, the lack of play for Sasha. His first minutes of the game came to start the quarter! It’s sad to see him fall out of the rotation to this extent… you know he can shoot; he’s the machine! Anyways, one trend that’s beginning to develop is the play of Farmar- his initial run to start the game was quite good and he continued it in the fourth with some good decisions and a nice two-hand dunk. Towards the midway point of the quarter Shannon Brown was able to produce another ridiculous highlight converting a lob from Farmar on the fast break. It’s absolutely ridiculous how high this cat jumps. His head is above the rim on almost EVERY PLAY. The quarter came to a close with Sasha getting into the action on a nice midrange jumper, and another ridiculous dunk from Shannon brown off a give and go. How is this guy not in the dunk contest, he lives in “The Air Up There” with Kevin Bacon. What is it going to take to get this guy there? David Stern are you LISTENING?

Fourth Quarter Notes/Highlights:

- Stu Hatin’ on Ryan Bowen: Stu questioning when the last time Bowen played was amazing. I believe he even made the comment, “padding that pension” and “Cha-ching, I ain’t mad at him.” Thank you Stu. Thank you.
- Garbage Time: The second game with Pau back in the lineup results in EXTENDED garbage time. Not the best for entertainment, definitely the best for tacos and the Lakers record.

Official Box Score

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