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Kobe misses late, Lakers come up just short again vs. Thunder

Eric Freeman

Who knew the Los Angeles Lakers could be so fun? One day after erasing a 27-point deficit against the Sacramento Kings before falling just short of a win, the 8-29 Lakers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center and played the team with the NBA's fourth-best record about as well as could reasonably be expected of a group on the second night of a back-to-back against a far superior opponent. It ended in a third-consecutive loss, but at least the Lakers gave the people the Staples Center crowd its money's worth.

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Much of the credit should go to Louis Williams, who put up 23 of his career-high 44 points (12-of-25 FG, 15-of-15 FT) in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers keep pace with the Thunder. With Thursday's star D'Angelo Russell limited to just eight minutes due to the ankle sprain he suffered late against the Kings, Williams took over the Lakers offense early in the fourth and proved responsible for all but five of L.A.'s points in the period.

 

However, Williams did not get the opportunity to take the potential game-tying or game-winning shot with 13 seconds on the clock and the Thunder up 115-113. That honor went to Kobe Bryant:

That's certified Kobe fan Kevin Durant disrespecting a legend with smothering defense. Russell Westbrook hit both free throws at the other end to cinch OKC's 117-113 win, continuing a run of six in seven games.

According to head coach Byron Scott, the ball could have gone to either Bryant or Williams off the inbound pass. In a move that goes against pretty much every decision Scott has made this season, the choice was left to a rookie:

Kobe, for his part, did not provide room for debate on the result of the play. He knew he should have been at the foul line:

It's easy to quibble with Kobe's take, especially considering the contact did not look especially egregious in the context of last-second attempts. It's also easy to understand why he was frustrated in being unable to gain separation in a one-on-one situation. He was left to settle for the loss at the end of a 19-point night that saw him finish with a minus-14 in 28 minutes.

If Williams stood out for an unexpected performance, then Westbrook did so by playing in a way we've become accustomed to. The dynamic guard put up 36 points (including 15 in the fourth) on 11-of-24 shooting, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in a typically maximalist showing.

And he did it all after arriving to Staples in a Slayer t-shirt:

Look, we don't know if Westbrook actually listens to the band. But he sure plays like they sound.

Durant was pretty good, too — he added a very efficient 24 points (10-of-15 FG) to the biggest defensive stop of the game. OKC also shot 50.6 percent from the field, although they assisted on only 17 of 45 field goals.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!