The Oklahoma City Thunder have a prime opportunity to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers from playoff contention Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena and it is an opportunity they intend to take advantage of. Going back to the Staples Center opens up all sorts of possibilities of forcing a defining game 7, something the Thunder want no part of, even if it would be a home game.
This is the home game they want, right here. Kick the Lakers while they're down. See if they'll fold the way they did against the Dallas Mavericks last season.
Of course, wanting to beat the Lakers in game 5 is clearly about OKC respecting its opposition.
"We know that it is always tough to close out a team, especially one that has Championship DNA and one that has a guy named Kobe on their team, he's not gonna wanna give up and just give us the game," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks
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