Lakers overpower Thunder
Published:Monday | April 19, 2010 | 1:00 PM
Pau Gasol scored 19 points and Andrew Bynum added 13 as the Los Angeles Lakers used their two big men to dominate the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning 87-79 last night in the opener of their NPL playoff series.
Kobe Bryant added 21 points on 6 of 19 shooting after missing four of the final five regular season games to rest his swollen right knee and broken right index finger.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 24 points and Russell Westbrook added 23.
Game 2 in the best-of-7 series is tomorrow at Staples Center.
At Orlando, Florida, Jameer Nelson scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half as Orlando Magic nearly blew a 22-point lead before beating Charlotte Bobcats 98-89 in Game 1.
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points to lead Dallas Mavericks 100-98 over San Antonio Spurs in their playoffs opener.
At Phoenix, Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and equaled his career playoff high with 31 points as the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers beat Phoenix Suns 105-100.