Russell Westbrook exults as Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol try to figure out what happened (Getty Images)

Oklahoma City Thunder 103, Los Angeles Lakers 100 (Thunder lead series, 3-1)

You get the feeling that every quarter the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder play is worth a column of its own. Our wrists can't handle such an exercise, though, and in a series like this, I'm not sure I can handle another exhausting three games. Though I'd like to see the Lakers and Thunder try.

Where to start? Well, it's almost as if Kobe Bryant realized his own line of [nonsense] emanating from his high free-throw total in Game 3. Yes, he got to the line 18 times and secured the Lakers' win, but it wasn't as if he was driving and getting hit to get to the stripe. Most of his looks came on fouls on the perimeter, with Oklahoma City in the penalty, and not some head-down brand of dashing to the goal. Come on, Kobe.

So what did he do in Game 4? Come on, Kobe. Come on so damn good. He was brilliant, to start. Absolutely fantastic in dominating in the post against both Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden, and outpacing even his Game 3 rate (10 free-throw attempts at the end of the third quarter in Game 3, 14 of those bad boys at the same time in Game 4) at the free-throw line by, you guessed it, putting his head down and driving to the rim. Smart, tough and cerebral play from a man playing nearly his 51,000th combined regular-season and postseason minute, on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Okahoma City Thunder are a young team, and many fans and observers believe they still need to prove their mettle in close, tense playoff games. Saturday night's Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center was one of those games, with the Lakers jumping out to a quick double-digit lead and holding a nine-point advantage heading into the final quarter. By all possible measures, OKC proved itself, taking the game 103-100 and out-executing the home Lakers down the stretch.

The finishing blow was Kevin Durant's 3-pointer over Metta World Peace with 13 seconds remaining. Durant's been no stranger to game-winners in these playoffs — this was his third, including this memorable one against Dallas on the postseason's first night — but this one felt a little more special. The context mattered: The Thunder were in danger of seeing the series tied at 2-2, and the shot was the perfect cap to their comeback. More than anything, though, it was impressive just how calm Durant looked

Kobe Bryant has given up on some bad habits, but retains one curious one (Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers 99, Oklahoma City Thunder 96 (Thunder lead series 2-1)

Game 1 was the blowout, the startling realization that the Oklahoma City Thunder remained a championship-level force to be reckoned with, even after a week-long layoff. Game 2 was the ugly nail-biter, the one that Los Angeles let get away. Game 3? It wasn't perfect. But it was fantastic, end-to-end playoff basketball.

There were quibbles, to be sure. Thunder coach Scott Brooks probably shouldn't have left Derek Fisher try to guard Kobe Bryant after Kobe's entrance in the fourth quarter; Kevin Durant will get criticism for the pass he made (to Serge Ibaka, in the game's third-to-last possession); Ibaka will get criticism for the pass he didn't make (to Durant or Russell Westbrook with the Thunder down three with three seconds left); and Kobe Bryant's ability to goad referee Marc Davis into putting him at the line on a phantom foul late in the fourth quarter. There were mistakes.

[Photos: Lakers get back in series with win over Thunder]

Kobe, though, earned just about every other trip to the line. He hit double-figure free-throw attempts by the end of the third quarter, and did not fall victim to the low-percentage looks down the stretch like he did late in Game 2 (save for one instance, that led directly to OKC going up five in the middle of the fourth as Kobe admired his follow through). One drive and score over both Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka in the fourth probably saved Los Angeles' season. Whine all you want over the Lakers shooting 42 free throws and Kobe hitting 18 of 18, but by my count he earned all but four of those 18 (both on phantom fouls versus James Harden), and the Lakers earned this win.

Pau Gasol thinks about the world (Andrew D. Bernstein/ Getty).

In most seasons, the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award is a minor NBA honor given out by Professional Basketball Writers Association in a pretty low-key ceremony. That changed last season, when Ron Artest (the artist currently known as Metta World Peace) earned the award for his charitable activities in supporting mental health awareness. It was an impressive and noteworthy turnaround for a man who once seemed like a force of destruction.

Then, of course, he elbowed James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the head and saw his reputation take a terrible hit. Perhaps sensing the danger of becoming the butt of jokes, the PBWA went with a safer pick this season. In doing so, they didn't leave the Lakers locker room, choosing big man and concerned citizen of the world Pau Gasol. From Mark Medina for the Los Angeles Times (via SLAM):

Jimmy Goldstein (Andrew D. Bernstein/ Getty)On Thursday, we noted that Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown called on fashionable NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein to ask a question during his Game 3 postgame press conference. Goldstein declined, of course, because it's not his job. It was notable, though, because a man who we don't usually hear from was given a chance to speak. He didn't, but the opportunity made many of us wonder what he might have asked.

However, it turns out that we were about to learn a whole lot about Goldstein even without a press conference appearance. On GQ.com, Myles Brown spoke with Goldstein about his fandom, his connections around the league, and just how he ends up attending so many big games. Here are a few highlights:

Greg Oden, spinning in a centrifuge (Getty Images)

It's become apparent that former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden is going all-out, in his attempts to recover from the litany of knee injuries that limited him to just 82 total games in five seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. The free-agent center, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard, underwent the same knee treatment that Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez underwent in Germany to correct their balky knees. The technical difference is that Oden had his procedure performed in New York. The sad difference is that both Bryant and Rodriguez are in their mid-30s, and have championships to their credit. Oden, at age 24, has no such pedigree.

Only potential, as it's always been, cruelly cut down by a series of unfortunate maladies that resulted in an NBA-unprecedented third microfracture surgery. Oden has been in the news quite a bit since the Blazers released him in March. He was the subject of some discussion as to the Portland staff's role in his botched recovery, his admission to drinking heavily and struggling with the pressures of his status as the top pick in the 2007 draft, and his willingness to (of course) want to play for the downright center-less Miami Heat all hit our site this spring.

Now, according to Broussard, he went to great and experimental lengths in order to strengthen those knees for one last attempt to cash in on that tantalizing potential. Here's Chris:

Kobe Bryant instructs his teammates in Wednesday's Game 2 (Getty Images)

The Oklahoma City Thunder had the best record in the tough Western Conference for most of the season, and they've yet to lose in six postseason games. The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, struggled through an up and down regular season, and the team has lost nine of its last 13 playoff games, dating back the group's second-round sweep at the hands of the champion Dallas Mavericks last year. An admittedly watered-down version of those Mavs, you'll recall, was swept out of the playoffs by the Thunder just two weeks ago.

With this unfortunate bit of history in place, and with a desperate Game 3 set to tip off on Friday night, is it possible the Lakers have any chance — both not only in this series, but in Game 3? That's going to be a tough one, Los Angeles.

We're well aware that the team was just over two minutes away from stealing the home-court advantage in this series on Wednesday night. Game 2's final-minute meltdown shouldn't take away from the fact that for 46 minutes the Lakers hedged off of Oklahoma City's screens expertly, covered ground in transition, forced nine more turnovers than they were able to in Game 1, while clogging the middle on drives from Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant. The defensive template, clearly, is in place.

Matt Bonner gets a few extra shots up before Tuesday's Game 1 (Getty Images)

"Couldn't you just move him to the back of the class?" Pretty smart, sage advice from a guy who was about to come off the bench of a playoff game, working for a team that hasn't lost in five weeks.

That's San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner for ya, the player depicted in young Spurs fan Patrick Gonzalez infamous haircut that nearly got him suspended from his junior high on Thursday. Rather than face the in-school suspension, Gonzalez decided to shave the design off, much to the chagrin of just about everyone who decided to comment in our post about the incident on Wednesday night. Bonner responded to Gonzalez's gesture by giving Patrick tickets to Thursday night's Game 2 Spurs win over the Los Angeles Clippers, and autographing several Spurs pieces of memorabilia for the youngster. Bonner, who was an Academic All-American in college, said he was mindful of the school administrators' policies, but criticized Woodland Hills Middle School nevertheless. Thankfully. From Mike Monroe at the San Antonio Express-News:

"Couldn't you just move him to the back of the class?" the red-headed 3-point shooting ace said after Thursday morning's shootaround. "Then nobody would see it; it wouldn't be a distraction. Otherwise, the nicest thing a fan has ever done for me is ruined. I'm not going to condemn the school. If anyone is in support of education and academics, it's myself, my Mom being a teacher, and (because of) my own academic success. Like I said, they could have just moved him to the back of the class."