Thunder

Often film sequels are slam dunks at the box office, a seamless continuation from where a previous hit left off. But as the new installment of the 15-year-old franchise "Men in Black" proves, getting to the big screen isn't always a cakewalk. One of the most troubled productions in recent Hollywood memory, Sony Pictures' latest movie in the Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones sci-fi-comedy franchise encountered multiple script rewrites, a discontented star and a three-month production shutdown as writers and studio executives scrambled to fix a project that nearly fell apart . By the time it was over, the studio had run up a tab of nearly $250 million - making "Men in Black 3" one of the most expensive releases of the summer.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Lakers can only hope that their point guard of the future is better than the one of their recent past. Even if the player who fits both descriptions is Ramon Sessions. After providing a considerable boost upon his acquisition in March, Sessions was a disappointment for most of the Western Conference semifinals. His performance in the Lakers' season-ending 106-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 on Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena may have been a new low. Two of Sessions' playoff-worst six turnovers triggered big runs by the Thunder.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant doesn't need much resume building. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward is already known the basketball world over for his prolific scoring and late-game shooting. Now he can add a line when he lists his experience: clutch defender. Durant's steal of a Kobe Bryant pass late in the fourth quarter helped ignite the Thunder's game-ending 9-0 run during a stunning 77-75 come-from-behind victory over the Lakers on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Andrew Bynum was right. Close-out games can be easy. The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped all over the Lakers in the fourth quarter of their 106-90 Game 5 victory Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, ending the Lakers' season yet again in the Western Conference semifinals. It wasn't as bad as last season's 36-point blowout loss in Dallas, and there won't be any carry-over suspensions for next season, but the two-championship run the Lakers put together couldn't have seemed any further in the past.

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook to a multiyear contract extension on Thursday. Westbrook was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning the Thunder would have had to match any offer he received from another team if it wanted to keep him. Instead, it locked him up with a new deal 15 games into this season. Terms were not disclosed, but Yahoo Sports reported the deal was worth $80 million over five years. Oklahoma City has the best record in the Western Conference, with Westbrook averaging 20.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds.

In what marked his first return to Los Angeles since the Lakers traded him, Thunder guard Derek Fisher noticed how much time has flown by. "It's only been a couple of weeks," Fisher said, "but it seemed so much longer. " It sure has. After acquiring Ramon Sessions in a separate trade from Cleveland, the Lakers traded  Fisher and a first-round pick to the Houston Rockets for Jordan Hill. Fisher and Houston then negotiated a buyout, before he signed with the Oklahoma City for the rest of the season.

On summer nights in the mid-1960s, while black-and-white television crackled elsewhere in his Staten Island home with news of Southern violence and Vietnam, Bobby Lasnik would stretch out in his bedroom to let the righteous soundtrack of the civil rights movement waft into his impressionable teenage soul. Tuned in to WBAI-FM, coming across the water from Manhattan, he heard baleful laments about injustice that he would carry with him for a lifetime. "Suddenly there was someone speaking a certain kind of truth to you. You'd say, 'Wow!

The Lakers-Oklahoma City series was already going to be rollicking, a classic case of young versus old. Then came the bonuses from the basketball lords the last two months. Derek Fisher ended up with the Thunder after being traded by the Lakers in March. James Harden took an elbow to the side of the head from Metta World Peace last month. Welcome to the newly refurbished Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder has awaited this matchup longer than the nine days since its first-round sweep of Dallas.

Among the highlights of Kobe Bryant's interview in the Lakers' 103-92 loss Thursday to Oklahoma City On why the Thunder's energy was better than the Lakers: "Because they're younger and have more than we do. " If Lakers can beat Thunder: "Absolutely. We just have to execute and slow the game down. They got a great deal of fast break points, a lot of offensive rebounds and 50-50 balls. We have to eliminate those. " On Russell Westbrook: "Russell Westbrook established the tempo in the third quarter and changed the pace of the game.

Looking ahead Oklahoma City at Clippers Monday at 7:30 p.m. PDT. TV: Prime, NBA TV The Clippers have been dismissed in some precincts as a cute little story that will come to an abrupt end in the playoffs. Try telling that to Oklahoma City, which has lost two of three meetings this season between franchises enjoying a swift ascent in the Western Conference. Chris Paul has been particularly bothersome to the Thunder, collecting 26 points and 14 assists on Jan. 30 during a 112-100 Clippers victory and scoring nine of the Clippers' final 11 points Wednesday during a 100-98 triumph in Oklahoma City.

Guard Derek Fisher, grand old man of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is the emotional rock of an otherwise young team. "He's the best I've played with or seen in terms of being able to address a team, talk to a team, communicate with guys in a way that's really effective," forward Nick Collison said of Fisher, 37. "It's like having another coach, but he still has the respect of the players. It doesn't feel like he's preaching at you, he just makes a lot of sense. " In that way, the Lakers can only hope that passing the rock doesn't come back to haunt them.

After spending a season fighting age, battling immaturity, struggling with old habits and jabbing with a new coach, the Lakers have ended up where we pretty much thought they would. Out of breath and on the ropes. Their veteran star is exhausted and annoyed. Their kid center is angry and distant. Their power forward is uncertain and embattled. And their season is officially on the brink after they blew a 13-point lead in a 103-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday in the fourth and perhaps deciding game of their first-round playoff series.

Some things to take from the Lakers' 99-96 Game 3 victory Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder. 1. The Lakers salvaged their season. I'll break down the particulars, but a Game 3 victory ensured the Lakers 2011-12 season remains intact. Yeah, there's still a Game 4, but there's no way the Lakers would overcome a 3-0 deficit. It's even debatable the Lakers would duplicate their Game 4 embarrassment last season against the Dallas Mavericks.

When Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher were teammates, Bryant used to joke about the lopsided results of their one-on-one games at the Lakers practice facility. On Friday evening, he proved that he wasn't just bragging. Fisher guarded Bryant on two possessions in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the Lakers Western Conference Semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The mismatch resulted in consecutive baskets for Bryant. In the first sequence, Bryant shot a 14-foot turnaround fade away jumper over Fisher to tie the game at 76-76 with 8:17 remaining.

New adventures in Lakers playoff losses … They have been blown out. They have frittered away a seven-point lead in the final two minutes. On Saturday night, in one of the cruelest defeats imaginable, the Lakers found themselves immersed in a nearly total fourth-quarter implosion. A 13-point cushion was obliterated during the final eight minutes of a wobbly leggged 103-100 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Join the Lakers-Thunder chat below!

What should the Lakers feel optimistic about against Oklahoma City? Mike Bresnahan: The Lakers actually showed some fire in their double-overtime victory over OKC last month. Can't remember a Lakers crowd ever getting that into a regular-season game. The Lakers' defense really showed me something in Game 7 against Denver. Not sure where it was the whole series, but the Lakers will have to employ it the entire time against OKC. Ben Bolch: The Lakers' 7-footers give them an advantage, provided they show up. Of course, that didn't always happen in the first round.

Former Lakers guard and captain Derek Fisher was on Oklahoma City's active roster, meaning he was going to suit up and be able to play for the Thunder in the game against the Clippers Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Fisher admitted that he was “surprised” by the Lakers trading him to the Houston Rockets last Thursday after winning five NBA championships with L.A. Fisher was able to get a buyout from the Rockets, which opened the door for the 6-2 guard to sign with the Thunder Wednesday after he cleared waivers.

The Lakers got the ending right this time. Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace made sure of it Friday night at Staples Center, helping the Lakers hold on for a breathless 99-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. Two days after he had flubbed the final minutes of Game 2, missing two shots and being in the midst of a pair of turnovers, Bryant was nearly flawless late in a game the Lakers had to win. He scored eight of his 36 points in the final 92 seconds, including two free throws that put the Lakers ahead to stay with 33 seconds left.

The realities of a lockout-shortened season will confront the Lakers one last time. They have been playing back-to-back games for months, but the playoffs aren't exactly the best time to endure a second game in a 48-hour span. Particularly when your opponent is the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose starters have an average age of 24.6. The average age of the Lakers' starters? A relatively geriatric 29.2. The Lakers have no choice but to slog through the second game of a back-to-back situation Saturday night at Staples Center in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.