OKLAHOMA CITY — Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 17 points and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their cushion over Oklahoma City in the Western Conference standings by beating the Thunder 90-87 on Sunday.
Andrew Bynum added 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the Lakers weren’t able to simply overpower a Thunder team that added Kendrick Perkins for interior toughness but won’t get him in the lineup for a couple weeks.
Lamar Odom missed a pair of free throws with 10.9 seconds left to leave the door open for Oklahoma City, but Kevin Durant and James Harden each missed three-pointers from the top of the key in the closing moments.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 22 points and Durant scored 21. The Thunder were held to a season-low 31 second-half points in suffering their first three-game losing streak of the season.
The Lakers have gained three games on the fourth place Thunder in the standings in the past five days and are now 4 1/2 games ahead.
The Lakers used a similar formula for their victory against Oklahoma City earlier this season in Los Angeles, when they held the Thunder to just 39 points in the second half.
After shooting 61 percent in the first half, the Thunder managed just half that percentage in the second half and lost after Durant and Westbrook each had turnovers in the final minute.
Ron Artest stripped Durant of the ball after Bryant’s jumper made it 90-87 with 56.4 seconds left, and Westbrook charged into Gasol for an offensive foul with 17.3 seconds remaining.
The Thunder still got one last chance but couldn’t convert.
None of Oklahoma City’s three trade deadline acquisitions - Perkins, Nazr Mohammed and Nate Robinson - played although Perkins was the only one unavailable. The Thunder still held their own in the paint after getting outscored there 54-26 in a blowout loss at Orlando on Friday night.
Oklahoma City outscored the Lakers 40-34 inside and held a 39-36 rebounding advantage behind Serge Ibaka’s 13 rebounds.
Harden added 14 points off the bench for the Thunder.
Sports, Pages 18 on 02/28/2011