The Oklahoma City Thunder are without a doubt one of the most promising young teams in the NBA with quite possibly the next great player in the league’s leading scorer Kevin Durant. With All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook playing alongside Durant in Oklahoma City and the Thunder just making a trade that has given them much needed size with Kendrick Perkins, this team could have a bright future.

Last year in the NBA playoffs, the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers were tested early against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. Even though the Lakers ultimately came out on top and went on to win a second consecutive NBA title, the Thunder were able to take the eventual champs to six games and that hasn’t been forgotten by Kobe Bryant and company.

Coming into this matchup, the Lakers had won three straight and seemed to be back to championship form, but they would face their first big test in the final stretch of NBA regular season against the Thunder. NBA betting has never been better than it is coming into the home stretch.

Even though Kendrick Perkins is set to miss some time and won’t be available for the Thunder for a little while longer, the Lakers still had their work cut out for them against this young and extremely fast Thunder squad. The one thing that the defending champs struggle against more than any other is talented point guards and that is exactly what the Thunder have in Russell Westbrook.

Early on, the Thunder seemed to be in control as they got out to a 14-point lead with Westbrook firing on all cylinders, but the Lakers bigs were able eventually take control of this game by dominating the paint and the glass.

Andrew Bynum had perhaps his best game in quite some time as he finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Pau Gasol also played well with a team-high 18 points and 12 rebounds, but it was Kobe Bryant’s clutch shot late in the game that put the Lakers over the top and led them to a 90-87 win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Make sure to check the latest odds and predictions from the best online sportsbooks as they take on the Knicks this Tuesday evening.

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