With 38 seconds left in the game, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder hit a mid range jumper to give the Thunder the lead and eventual victory, despite being without Kevin Durant.
To add insult to injury, Nick Young was ejected during the game around the 11 minute mark of the fourth quarter after he intentionally elbowed Steven Adams. Young can possible be suspended for tomorrow’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
"Young said Adams “is a sneaky, dirty player,” but Young also blamed himself for the ejection, saying he “lost my mind a little bit, checked into the crazy house and got back out.” Young had 10 points before his ejection. “He was doing his job. He got me kicked out of the game. That’s what they put him in the game to do,” Young said."
Following that tough blow Friday, the Lakers travel to Sacramento looking to right the ship against the Kings, who couldn’t get a win on Thursday against the Bucks even with DeMarcus Cousins back in the lineup after dealing with an injury. They have dropped five straight games and went a woeful 2-8 without Cousins. They are currently 0-2 under interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who replaced Michael Malone after he was surprisingly fired earlier this week.
Bryant hasn’t played in Sacramento since March 30 of 2013 due to his injuries. However, Bryant does average of 32.7 points when he plays against the Kings. The Lakers won 6 out of the 7 games they played against them; two of those games Cousins did not play and Bryant didn’t play in five of them. The Lakers won the last meeting 98-95.
The Kings are 4th in the Pacific Division as for the Lakers they are 5th. Kings are hovering around .500 against the Western Conference with 9-11 as for the Lakers they are a putrid 4-15 against like-conference foes. In the Lakers past 10 games, they are just 5-5.