Is there any better young rivalry in the league than the Thunder and the Lakers? No bad blood (well, outside of Kendrick Perkins), it’s just pure, unadulterated talent, a smorgasbord of MVPs, All-Stars, scoring champs, defenders…it’s as good as it gets. We need seven games of this. We can only hope they get the chance to pick up where they left off last night … Down the stretch, it was the kids who played like champions. While the Lakers missed free throws and turned the ball over, Russell Westbrook (26 points) and Kevin Durant (31 points) jabbed the dagger into L.A.’s heart, hitting a couple of impossible shots. It all added up to a 120-106 Thunder win in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated … The Thunder came out scorching, throwing up 36 in the first quarter (27 from Russ & KD). Kobe Bryant (31 points) and Pau Gasol (26 points) kept the Lakers close, and for a while in the second half, it seemed like L.A. was slowly overwhelming Oklahoma City … That’s now five consecutive losses for L.A. Is there any team that plays in spurts as often as the Lakers? Not just week-to-week, but even quarter-to-quarter, we are never quite sure what they will give us. If these two teams meet up in the playoffs, things will be very, very interesting … Basketball is a simple game. If you put in the effort and play together, you can win. In one of their largest tests of the season, Miami took that blueprint and laid down the gauntlet … In a game that basically decided who will have the home-court advantage in the second round, Miami shut the door in Boston’s face, blowing them out, 100-77. Take out the opening minutes, and the Heat strangled the Celtics, rendering everyone outside of Paul Pierce (24 points) and Kevin Garnett (21 points) completely useless … While LeBron James (27 points) had a great second half, it wasn’t so much the stars that won it for the Heat, but it was the energy of the “other” guys like Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers that made the difference. The hosts murdered Boston on the glass, and their defense seemed to drain the life out of the C’s in the third quarter … So far, it doesn’t look like the Perkins trade is working out. Boston better get their game straightened out soon or that trade might go down as the cause of this team’s demise … Without Dwight Howard to control the paint (had to sit out after picking up his 18th technical against Charlotte on Friday), Derrick Rose gutted Orlando for 39 points in the Bulls’ three-point win. Orlando had a shot to send it to overtime, but Jameer Nelson‘s (17 points, 11 assists) long three was just a couple tenths of a second too late. Rose missed just four shots all afternoon, and was blowing by Nelson, drawing fouls and making plays at the rim. As a team, Chicago shot 60 percent. Actually, we don’t know if that’s a positive or negative when referring to Howard. If you are that important to your team, then you shouldn’t be out there picking up stupid technicals and suspensions. Ryan Anderson did what he could to replace the big man (28 points, 10 rebounds) but defensively, the Magic weren’t the same … In the second quarter, Rose had a move that was ridiculous. Normally, great baseline moves end up with reverse layups. Rose went up and under and then scored on the same side with his left hand as he floated underneath the rim. … At the end of the first half, Nelson hit a half-court shot. This time, the shot beat the buzzer … Carmelo Anthony did something you expected, and then something you probably didn’t. First, Anthony (34 points) hit a game-winning, pull-up jumper from just inside the three-point line with 4.9 seconds in the Knicks’ one-point win in Indiana. For someone considered one of the best clutch shooters in the game (he already has three game-winners with New York), that was par for him. But then, Anthony iced the win on the other end by getting up and blocking Danny Granger‘s (20 points) jumper. As Anthony continues to shoot well (six threes), the Knicks look like they could give the Celtics a run in the first round … There may not be a lower-seeded Western Conference team more equipped to push the Lakers than the rugged Grizzlies. They took a step towards meeting the Lakers next weekend by manhandling the Hornets, 111-89. O.J. Mayo came off the bench to score 18 points, but the key was their defense. For the first time in his entire career, Chris Paul was held scoreless (he did have 10 assists) and the two teams are now deadlocked at 46-34, although the Hornets hold the tiebreaker … Other headlines from around the league: Rodney Stuckey (24 points, 11 assists) led the Pistons to an 11-point win over Charlotte; Toronto beat the Nets by seven as Jerryd Bayless had 19 points and three other Raptors (DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis and James Johnson) had 18; Marcus Thornton (21 points) hit the game-winning shot with 12 seconds left and Sacramento beat the Warriors by one; and Dallas destroyed the Suns by 25 behind Dirk Nowitzki (19 points) … We’re out like CP buckets.
