Lakers’ Game 2 loss to Thunder has severe implications (Web links)

Game stories

--The Times’ Mike Bresnahan explains how the Lakers’ 77-75 Game 2 loss Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Thunder will haunt them later if they lose in the Western Conference semifinals.

--The Orange County Register’s Kevin Ding mentioned Pau Gasol’s suggestion that it’s harder to stomach the Game 2 collapse than the Game 1 blowout.

--The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry details the Thunder’s comeback in the final two minutes.

--The Daily News’ Elliott Teaford documents the Lakers’ collapse in the final minutes.

Notebooks

--The Times’ Bresnahan mentions how the Lakers are getting little production from their point guards through two games against the Thunder.

--The Daily News’ Teaford mentions the fines the NBA handed down to Andrew Bynum (skipped media availability) and Devin Ebanks (took off jersey and punched a chair after Game 1 ejection).

Sidebars

--The Times’ Ben Bolch credits Kevin Durant’s defensive performance late in the game.

--Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix details how Durant has expanded his game.

--A panel of NBA.com writers don’t believe the Lakers can come back in this series.

--The Oklahoman’s John Rohde explains how the Lakers unraveled at the end.

Columns

--The Times’ Bill Plaschke faults Kobe Bryant for not closing the game out well.

--ESPN.coms’ J.A. Adande also focuses on Bryant’s disappearing act late in the game.

--The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson argues that the Thunder’s Game 2 win was more valuable in its growth than getting a Game 1 blowout.

--The Orange County Register’s Ding mentions how it was unlikely Bryant would’ve scored on the last play given how the play was run.

--Fox Sports’ Jen Floyd Engel calls the Thunder a “Dream Team.”

--Yahoo! Sports’ Johnny Ludden faults Bryant for the loss.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin says the Lakers need to quickly forget about their Game 2 loss or else it’ll be too hard to overcome the disappointment.

--NBA.com’s Sekou Smith praises the Thunder’s resiliency.

--The Oklahoman’s Barry Tramel believes the Thunder “displayed the heart of a champion.”

Blogs

--Ball Don’t Lie’s Dan Devine muses about James Harden elbowing Metta World Peace .

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Brian Kamenetzky breaks down the Lakers’ loss to Oklahoma City.

--Sports Illustrated’s Zach Lowe details how the Lakers collapsed in the final minutes.

--The Oklahoman’s Mayberry offers a few nuggets from the Lakers-Thunder game.

--Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell provides a running diary of the Lakers-Thunder game.

Tweet of the Day: “LAKES NO LONGER RULE but are way better than Dec. 25. Problem would be deciding someone must go and breaking up Kobe-Drew-Pau-Ramon nucleus” -- MarkHeisler (NBA columnist Mark Heisler)

Rick Friedman Reader Comment of the Day: “This is the way the Lakers used to win games... force the other team to make mistakes in crunch time. Nobody fears the Lakers anymore. They know that the team regular caves at the end of quarters, and at the end of games. They also know that Kobe now caves, too. The Thunder are younger and quicker. The Thunder are more athletic.

And now we know that the Thunder are the ones who keep their composure in a pressure situation. Can anybody tell me what advantage we have? Oh yeah, two 7-footers. Well, that works when you run plays for them. That works when you park them next to the hoop while Kobe starts his run to the lane at maybe 12 seconds, even 10 seconds, to get a shot up by 7 seconds left...even 5 seconds left...and the big guys look for the put-back. But when he dribbles it down from 18 to 6 and then makes his move...only to get fouled — and OKC had one to give.

What? “Mr. Basketball I.Q.” didn’t know that OKC had the foul and would obviously use it? Any high school player would know that the foul is coming and you have to make your move earlier, get that over with and then have enough time to inbound the ball, run your play, shoot, be in position to rebound a miss, etc. You can’t blame Mike Brown for the worst turnover of the season and the closing sequence. I don’t think OKC sweeps, but it could easily end in a game 5 wipeout on the Thunder court.” -- InThePopcornMachine

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