Pau Gasol’s put-back with .5 seconds left closes the book on Thunder’s incredible season.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–The dream season for the Oklahoma City Thunder has reached it’s end.
With less than a second on the clock, Los Angelese Lakers Center Pau Gasol tipped in a last second jumper by Kobe Bryant to end the Thunder’s improbable playoff run against the defending NBA Champions in the Ford Center Friday night..
A last second 3 point heave by Thunder guard Russell Westbrook fell short as the buzzer sounded signalling the Lakers 4-2 series victory.
Thunder center Kevin Durant went a disappointing 5-23 in shooting and finished the night with 26 points while Westbrook finished the game with 21 points. Kobe Bryant led both team with 32 points and a 12-25 shooting effort. Series hero Gasol recorded a 9 point effort but the last two of those points were the ones that meant the most in the whole series because instead of an easy sweep of the upstarts from the heartland, the Thunder had to be beaten cleanly for the champions to move forward with any hope of repeating as NBA champs for 2010.
The Thunder finish the season with a 52-36 record, including the first two playoff victories as a franchise in the Sooner State. Post season honors for the team beyond making the playoffs were coach Scott Brooks being named the Red Auerbach NBA Coach of the Year for 2010 and Kevin Durant capturing the regular season scoring title.
It should be noted that the demise of the Thunder was freakishly similar to the downing of their D-League counterparts on Tuesday night as the Tulsa 66ers lost to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 94-91 at the buzzer when Craig Winder banked a 3-pointer off the glass as the buzzer sounded on Tuesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will return to the court in November.
| Los Angeles Lakers (57-25) | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| field goalsrebounds | |||||||||||||||||
| pos | min | fgm-a | 3pm-a | ftm-a | +/- | off | def | tot | ast | pf | st | to | bs | ba | pts | ||
| R. Artest | F | 39:34 | 3-10 | 1-5 | 0-0 | -6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| P. Gasol | F-C | 38:43 | 4-11 | 0-0 | 1-2 | -2 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |
| A. Bynum | C | 27:18 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |
| K. Bryant | G | 35:57 | 12-25 | 3-4 | 5-7 | +1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 32 | |
| D. Fisher | G | 28:46 | 4-8 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| L. Odom | 30:24 | 4-8 | 1-3 | 0-1 | -6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | ||
| S. Brown | 14:57 | 4-5 | 2-2 | 1-2 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| J. Farmar | 10:41 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | +7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| L. Walton | 11:05 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | +5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| J. Powell | 02:36 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| D. Mbenga | DNP – Coach’s Decision | ||||||||||||||||
| A. Morrison | DNP – Coach’s Decision | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 240 | 37-79 | 12-24 | 9-14 | 10 | 33 | 43 | 23 | 21 | 4 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 95 | |||
| 46.8% | 50.0% | 64.3% | team rebs: 11 | total to: 16 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32) | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| field goalsrebounds | |||||||||||||||||
| pos | min | fgm-a | 3pm-a | ftm-a | +/- | off | def | tot | ast | pf | st | to | bs | ba | pts | ||
| K. Durant | F | 42:21 | 5-23 | 2-5 | 14-15 | +4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | |
| J. Green | F | 41:43 | 6-12 | 2-6 | 2-2 | -6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | |
| N. Krstic | C | 28:43 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| T. Sefolosha | G | 12:53 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| R. Westbrook | G | 41:42 | 7-20 | 1-6 | 6-7 | +2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | |
| N. Collison | 23:06 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| S. Ibaka | 30:16 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| J. Harden | 12:57 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| E. Maynor | 06:18 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| K. Ollie | DNP – Coach’s Decision | ||||||||||||||||
| E. Thomas | DNP – Coach’s Decision | ||||||||||||||||
| K. Weaver | DNP – Coach’s Decision | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 240 | 31-85 | 5-19 | 27-31 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 21 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 94 | |||
Photo by Kevin Pyle.