OKLAHOMA CITY - The Kobe Bryant farewell tour made its way to Oklahoma City on Saturday and Thunder forward Kevin Durant was looking forward to facing the retiring NBA legend.
But when it was announced an hour before that game that Bryant would be sitting out with a sore shoulder, that took a little of steam out of facing the struggling Los Angeles squad.
Despite that occurrence, Durant came out and scored 22 points to lead Oklahoma City to a 118-78 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
"I lick my chops for whoever comes in," Durant said on not being able to face Bryant. "No matter who it is. But I try not to worry about it and just play my game."
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Durant shot 7 of 13 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds in three quarters. Point guard Russell Westbrook scored 13 to go along with 11 assists while center Enes Kanter added 19 points and 14 rebounds in 23 minutes to help Oklahoma City improve to 18-9.
"We just had to stay focus and keep doing what we do every night," Kanter said. "Come out ready and focus on what we need to focus on and do our job."
The Lakers were led by guard Lou Williams, who scored 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 15 points as L.A. dropped to 4-23.
"Really just got embarrassed by the way we played tonight," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "Like I told them, it was pathetic in every area. We didn't come to compete and they just played harder than we did. It looked like we were just in awe of that team."
Coming off a loss at Cleveland on Thursday, Oklahoma City didn't want to double down with a defeat at the hands of the Lakers, who have the second-worst record in the NBA.
Durant was feeling it from the outset. He began the game draining his jumpers and driving to the hoop for layups. That included spinning around Lakers forward Julius Randle on a baseline drive that he finished off with a dunk.
Durant finished the first quarter with 14 points as Oklahoma City led 35-15.
It only got worse from there for Los Angeles. Aside from Williams, none of the Lakers were able to go get a basket on a consistent basis. The Thunder did a good job of shutting down everyone else, which allowed them to take a 67-41 halftime advantage.
Los Angeles couldn't get any closer as Oklahoma City essentially went through practice drills. During one sequence in the third quarter, Ibaka grabbed three offensive rebounds as coach Billy Donovan yelled for his team to make good passes. It led to Ibaka's 3-pointer from the corner and a 30-point lead for the Thunder.
"That is just good basketball," Durant said. "That's what need. Everybody touched the ball. When everybody touches the ball, it makes you shift the defense. More times than not, that's in our favor."
Oklahoma City rested its starters in the fourth quarter and the Lakers were unable to do anything against the Thunder reserves. The 40-point victory set a season high.
"They are pretty much a good team," Los Angeles swingman Nick Young said. "You have to tip your hat off to them. Their shots were falling tonight. It's tough. It's a tough situation we're in. Losing on a consistent basis every night. We have to find a way to put it together."
NOTES: Los Angeles F Kobe Bryant sat out with a sore shoulder. "We haven't had a doctor or anybody look at him yet," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "All we have is right shoulder sore. I haven't even talked to him about it, so I don't even know when it occurred. He got up this morning and said it was really sore. That was the first I heard of it." ... Despite being held 11 rebounds below their season average (47.6) Thursday in a loss to Cleveland, Oklahoma City is still No. 1 in the league in rebound differential with a 7.4 margin. "One of the more difficult things to do is rotationally block out," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. "We need to do a better job there. We have been pretty good defensive rebounding, but we need to do a better job." ... G Anthony Brown started in place of Bryant. "I just hope he doesn't ask for his autograph," Scott said of Brown guarding Thunder F Kevin Durant.
