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Whether or not the Lakers will admit it, they were in a desperate situation to win game 3 at home after being blown out in game one and then giving away game two in Oklahoma City. Game three was clearly a must win as the thought of another sweep in round two of the playoffs would haunt Lakers fans and staff all summer long and no doubt lead to some major lineup changes in LaLa land.

Good news is the Lakers came out of the gates strong posting a nice lead until Kobe was hit with his second foul and James Harden came in off the bench. The Laker then gave up their cushion and found themselves in a dog fight the rest of the way. The game was physical, and the Lakers fought for every basket they got along the way.

Things looked dismal late in the fourth quarter when Kobe turned the ball over which lead to a breakaway dunk by Westbrook leaving the Lakers down by five points with two minutes left in regulation.

Kobe then willed his team to victory by driving for a layup and getting to the foul line down the stretch. Some solid Lakers D held the Thunder in check and the Lakers clawed their way to a win capped off with Bynum’s block on Ibaka at the buzzer.

Good news, Lakers win. Bad news is they have to get ready to fight again Saturday night in another desperate must win situation.

Go Lakers!