The Oklahoma City Thunder delivered a blow to rival Metta World Peace's infamous elbow by crushing the Los Angeles Lakers 119-90 Monday to win the opening game of the second-round playoff series. In the first matchup between the teams since World Peace struck James Harden with an elbow on April 22 to draw a seven-game suspension, the Thunder hit back to take a 1-0 series lead. Russell Westbrook had 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in limited playing time, Kevin Durant added 25 as a rested Oklahoma City team ran circles around the visitors. “I just tried to come out aggressive, we hadn't played in a while and I had some good legs underneath me,” Westbrook told reporters. The Thunder swept their first-round series and had more than a week off while the Lakers just wrapped up a tough seven-game series two days ago. Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum both had 20 points, but the Lakers fell behind by 15 at halftime and the deficit ballooned to 30 in the third as the visitors struggled to cope with Oklahoma City's foot speed and athleticism. A hostile home crowd booed World Peace throughout the night but Harden said he did not let the elbowing incident interfere with his focus. “(I) put that stuff behind me and (went) out there to make plays for my team,” said Harden, who had 17 points to World Peace's 12. Game two is scheduled for Wednesday at Oklahoma City. Westbrook said he expects the Lakers to come out in game two with a chip on their shoulder. “Game two should be a little more physical,” he said. Oklahoma City outscored the Lakers 39-24 in the third quarter in front of a crowd of 18,203 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. “We did a good job of taking care of the basketball,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “We held each other accountable on defense.” Brooks said the key was stopping Laker stars Bynum and Bryant. “Kobe Bryant is one of the best players ever to play this game and we did a good job of making him take tough shots,” Brooks said. “We also did a good job of not giving Bynum any easy shots.” In the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia avoided a repeat of their Game One flop and earned an 82-81 road triumph over Boston, outdueling the Celtics late to tie their second round playoff series. After blowing a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter to lose the series opener Saturday, the youthful 76ers again saw a late lead disappear but this time they refused to buckle and tied the best-of-seven series 1-1. Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 18 points while Evan Turner made a go-ahead scoop shot with 40 seconds left and added two key free throws during a rugged struggle that heated up in the final quarter. Ray Allen had 17 and Kevin Garnett added 15 and 12 rebounds and made a three-pointer as time expired to shave the final deficit. Game Three is Wednesday in Philadelphia.
