Mike Bresnahan’s take: We’re not in Portland anymore

The Lakers have taken plenty of heat for their difficulty winning in Portland, but here’s a streak their followers can enjoy.

The Lakers have won 12 consecutive games against the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.

Plenty has been written about the Lakers’ nine-game losing streak in Portland, which finally came to an end last month. But almost nothing has been written about their Thunder run, probably because it’s split across two teams in two cities, the Lakers winning their last six games against Seattle and their first six after the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City.

Personally, I hope the streak continues. Seattle was one of my favorite cities on this continent, let alone the NBA, so I wasn’t thrilled when owner Clay Bennett yanked the team out of Seattle.

There’s no cheering in the press box, but there’s certainly private delight in a particular team losing here and there.

Q&A of the day

Q: I have a friend who is from L.A., but now lives in Germany. I keep him updated on the Lakers. Last week, I mentioned how Andrew Bynum was finally starting to play well, and said the following: “I don’t want to jinx anything, but whenever he’s gotten into these grooves, it lasts a few weeks, then he ends up with a crippling injury that puts him out for the season.”

You know what happened the very next day.

So do you think I jinxed him, or do we now have enough evidence after three seasons of the exact same thing that his playing well is a sure sign of a pending injury?

—Steve S.

A: In the interest of keeping Steve, aka Lakers Jinx, protected from an angry mob of Lakers fans, I’ve decided not to include his last name.

OK, it’s Sussman.

But I’m definitely not going to include his city of residence. No way. Too much sensitive information. Wouldn’t want him to get in trouble.

(Los Angeles.)

Final thought

Record in weekly picks: 9-11

Finally got one right by going out on a limb last week and taking the Lakers to win … at home … against Minnesota … which has the NBA’s second-worst record … and has won only five games on the road.

The Lakers showed something with their second half in San Antonio. I don’t see their streak ending against Oklahoma City. Call it a lucky 13 for them.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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