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Thunder Rolls: OKC Eliminates Lakers, Moves To Western Finals

Considering the last three games were decided by eight points combined, many thought Game 5 would be close. Heh, nope. The Thunder dominated the Lakers late to win 106-90.

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24 Total Updates since May 21, 2012
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At Least 8 People Shot Following Thunder Game, Police Confirm

A festive atmosphere in downtown Oklahoma City quickly turned violent Monday night when at least eight people were shot minutes after the Thunder defeated the Lakers in Game 5, according to police. Initial reports indicating only three victims proved to be too conservative. Two suspects are in custody.

The shootings occurred in Bricktown, an entertainment district just three blocks from Chesapeake Energy Arena. The streets were full of celebrating fans when the shooting occurred; in addition to the fans leaving the arena, thousands more had gathered to watch the game on a giant LED screen mounted on the side of the arena, part of the "Thunder Alley" block party hosted by the team.

From The Oklahoman:

"Preliminary reports indicate that eight people were shot and one person suffered blunt trauma, and that person was a pregnant woman," Oklahoma City police Capt. Dexter Nelson said.

"Everything is very, very preliminary. We still don't know the actual number of victims. We believe that one person is critical, and the other injuries are not believed to be life-threatening," Nelson said.

The Oklahoman reports that the pregnant woman is believed to have been kicked during the aftermath of the shootings. The team provided the following statement to the newspaper:

"It's unfortunate that it happened on a great night for Oklahoma City and the Thunder, but in our society those things happen," Oklahoma City Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney said.

"It did not happen at the arena, at the game, at Thunder Alley," Mahoney said.

"We'll continue to work with law enforcement to provide a safe environment," he said.

CBS Sports obtained footage of one of the suspects being taken into custody from a Thunder fan via Twitter:

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Shootings Near Thunder's Arena Follow Win Over Lakers, According To Reports

The Oklahoma City Thunder's rousing Game 5 elimination of the L.A. Lakers at home was followed by multiple shootings, reports The Oklahoman. Multiple people were shot downtown near Chesapeake Energy Arena shortly after the Thunder ended the series Monday night, according to the newspaper. Two suspected shooters were reportedly in custody. The Oklahoman reports at least three wounded in the shooting, though the severity of any injuries remains unknown.

News9 reports that six shots were fired, and that there are two victims.

The Thunder are Oklahoma City's only major league team. There were no reported incidents when the Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Finals a year ago; OKC won a Game 7 at home to get there in 2011.

The reported site of the shooting is just a five-minute walk from the arena. The TNT broadcast showed the area outside of the arena teeming with Thunder fans watching the game on screens.

Via Eye on Basketball.

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Thunder Vs. Spurs Schedule: Western Conference Finals Begin Sunday

The Spurs and Thunder will meet for Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Western Conference Finals on Sunday.

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Thunder Vs. Lakers, NBA Playoffs 2012 Game 5 Final Score: OKC Advances With 106-90 Win

On Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Los Angeles Lakers, knowing they would need just one more victory to advance to the Western Conference final. The Lakers were determined to try to prevent that from happening and did their best to stave off elimination but, in the end, the Thunder were too quick, too young and just too talented to be denied. The Thunder won Game 5 and clinched the series by a final score of 106-90.

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The Lakers trailed for much of the game but managed to keep things close and even took a lead for a brief time in the third quarter, but the Thunder buckled down and began to pull away. They just added to their lead throughout the fourth quarter and, before long, the Lakers were on the losing end of a blowout.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 42 points and, in typical Bryant fashion, zero assists. Russell Westbrook led all Thunder scorers with 28 points, while Kevin Durant had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

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While Kobe Bryant Sits, Thunder Bury Daggers, Bury Lakers

Kobe Bryant received his typical rest to begin the fourth quarter with the L.A. Lakers trailing 83-77 in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kobe was clearly L.A.'s best player all night long, really the only scorer keeping the Lakers in the game and putting pressure on OKC. He sat for the first 1 minutes, 49 seconds of the fourth.

And the Thunder took that opportunity to score eight straight and open up a 91-77 before Mike Brown put Kobe back in.

Kobe's re-entry wasn't a great salve -- the Lakers still trail by double digits moments later, with the game winding down -- but the damage had been done. For better or worse, the fortunes of the Lakers in this game relied solely on Kobe Bryant. And he sat on the bench while those fortunes were decided. Neither fate nor Kobe with a mic in his face will smile kindly on the two-minute lay-off.

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VIDEO: Russell Westbrook The Master Of Continuation

The 2011-12 NBA season has seen plenty of absurd shots from tremendously talented players. This play by Russell Westbrook, though, has to top them all. With the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers tied at 70 midway through the third quarter of Game 5, Westbrook deflected a Ramon Sessions pass, got the steal and ... well, just watch the rest.

Sessions went over to wrap Westbrook up like any smart player, and Westbrook still powered through to bank home what essentially was a 15-foot layup.

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This, of course, was followed by a typically outlandish Westbrook celebration. This is the same guy who did his gun holster move after hitting a three-pointer in Game 4 with his team down by double digits. You knew he was going to add a little extra flavor to his amazing shot.

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Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant's reaction was ... yeah. This was predictable.

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For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

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VIDEO: Metta World Peace Gets Called For Flagrant Foul, Flips Out At Referee

So, things got a bit wild at the end of the first half of Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Metta World Peace had spent most of the half throwing his weight around, so I guess you could say it was only a matter of time before something crazy happened. I guess this qualifies.

World Peace was back trying to defend a fast break against Thabo Sefolosha and delivered a hard foul that sent the slender Sefolosha falling back behind the baseline. It was a hard foul, but World Peace did have his hand on the ball, so it probably should have just been a two-shot foul.

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Instead, the referees whistled him for a flagrant foul. Let's just say World Peace was not amused.

I won't tell you exactly what World Peace said, but the ending rhymed with "banana split." That should give you a pretty good idea.

World Peace does have a right to be upset. With most other players, that's not a flagrant foul. World Peace did extend the left arm, but referees would have cut, say, Kevin Durant some slack if he did that. At the end of the day, World Peace's reputation certainly worked against him.

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

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VIDEO: Kobe Bryant's Left-Handed Bank Shot Wins Everyone's HORSE Game

If the NBA awarded extra points for degree of difficulty, Kobe Bryant would be the best NBA player of all time. Here he is adding to his bag of tricks with a lefty bank shot from 14 feet out.

Bryant was stuck without his dribble and had to manufacture that shot by bumping into Kevin Durant to create space. He ended up kissing it off the glass beautifully for his 13th point of the game. He's now 6-9 from the field for 15 points. Meanwhile, the rest of the Lakers are 1-10. The fourth quarter is going to be a lot of fun!

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