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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kobe Bryant may not have made the difference. Either way, the Oklahoma City Thunder had little trouble with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday
With Bryant out with a sore right shoulder, the Thunder stars had their way. Kevin Durant had 22 points and eight rebounds, Russell Westbrook had 13 points and 11 assists and Oklahoma City beat the Lakers 118-78 for its eighth straight home victory.
Enes Kanter had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Westbrook had his 18th double-double of the season for Oklahoma City. The Thunder won for the fifth straight time against the Lakers.
The Lakers' point total was their second-lowest this season and the lowest by an Oklahoma City opponent since the Thunder beat the Miami Heat 93-75 on March 22. The Thunder led by as many as 46 points and flirted with breaking their record for margin of victory, which is 45 points.
"We just tried to make the right play every time down and defensively, we just tried to cover for each other," Durant said. "We came in at halftime and coach (Billy Donovan) said we've got to still stick with our principles and still play the game the right way and I think we did a good job."
With Bryant out, the Lakers started seldom-used rookie Anthony Brown in his place. Lou Williams scored 20 points and Jordan Clarkson added 15 for Los Angeles, but the Lakers lost for the 15th time in 17 games.
Bryant sat in street clothes on the Lakers' bench while Durant and Westbrook quickly took control for Oklahoma City.
Facing the inexperienced Brown, Durant went 5 of 7 from the field in the first half and hit both of his 3-point attempts. His first came a little more than 3 minutes into the game to cap an 8-0 Thunder run.
Durant scored 14 first-quarter points to help the Thunder lead 35-15 at the quarter's end. The Thunder had seven dunks in the first half, three of them alley-oops from Westbrook to Steven Adams. Meanwhile, the Lakers threw five passes out of bounds, and the Thunder led 67-41 at halftime.
The Lakers came no closer than 25 points in the second half and Westbrook and Durant spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench.
Los Angeles coach Byron Scott said the Lakers looked "scared" and "intimidated" against Oklahoma City.
"The guys on the court have to learn from it," Scott said. "They didn't play well at all and really just got embarrassed by the way we played tonight. Like I told them, I said it was pathetic in every area. We didn't come to compete. They just played harder than we did. It just looked like we were in awe of that team."
