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Bynum too much for Thunder

Andrew Bynum was out of breath but on his game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon.
Andrew Bynum, Kevin Durant
Los Angeles Laker Andrew Bynum blocks Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant during the Lakers 87-79 win in Game 1 of their first round playoff series

Thunder 79 at Lakers 87

Andrew Bynum was out of breath but on his game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon.

Bynum displayed little rust in teaming with Pau Gasol to dominate the middle in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 87-79 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their playoff series opener.

Bynum ignited the Staples Center crowd with a monster one-handed dunk over a defenceless Nenad Krstic in the second quarter that pushed the Lakers’ lead to 17.

“It kind of got me going,” Bynum said. “It hyped the team up. That’s the kind of player I can be — exciting.”

Gasol scored 19 points, Bynum added 13 and Kobe Bryant had 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting after missing four of the final five regular season games to rest his swollen right knee and broken right index finger.

“I just have less margin for error with the finger,” he said. “You just got to make adjustments, change your stroke up a little bit.”

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 24 points on 7-of-24 shooting in his playoff debut — under the 30.1 average of the NBA’s youngest-ever scoring champion. Former UCLA star Russell Westbrook added 23.

“I was frustrated,” said Durant, who tossed up some airballs and went 9-of-11 from the line. “I was missing shots I normally make. They felt good leaving my hand. If I made 4-5 more shots, maybe it’s a different game.”

Bynum made a difference for the Lakers.

He returned from a 13-game absence because of a strained right Achilles’ tendon, teaming with fellow seven-footer Gasol to pull down a combined 25 rebounds and deny the Thunder key second-chance baskets. Bynum tied his career playoff high with four blocks.

“I had a couple little twinges, but nothing serious,” he said. “Conditioning in the first quarter was tough. The more I keep playing with this aggressive nature, I’ll get better.”

Game 2 in the best-of-7 series is Tuesday at Staples Center.

“We could’ve definitely played a lot better, but at this stage you just got to win games,” Bryant said. “It doesn’t really matter how.”

History is on the Lakers’ side against the NBA’s youngest team, with an average age of 25 years and 42 days. When coach Phil Jackson wins Game 1 of any series, his teams are 45-0.

“We eked the game out,” Jackson said. “In the second half, we played not up to what we want to play. The energy wasn’t what it could be.”

That wasn’t a problem in the beginning.

The Lakers came out blazing against the overwhelmed Thunder, pounding the ball inside to Bynum and Gasol while shooting 54 per cent and taking a 27-13 lead in the first quarter.

“They really play off each other, take their time and shoot a high field-goal percentage,” Lamar Odom said. “They make the game easy for us as a team.”

In the playoffs for the first time since moving from Seattle two years ago, the Thunder shot 26 per cent, leading to their fewest points in an opening period all season.

“Our effort was really good,” coach Scott Brooks said. “We just didn’t have anything going (offensively). We were holding the ball and standing around too much.”

Oklahoma City settled down the rest of the way, but never got closer than six points against the defending champions, who are seeking a third straight trip to the NBA finals.

Bobcats 89 at Magic 98

Jameer Nelson scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half, and the Magic nearly blew a 22-point lead before beating the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 1.

Spurs 94 at Mavericks 100

At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki opened the playoffs in a high gear, making 12-of-14 shots and scoring 36 points to lead the Mavericks over San Antonio.

Trail Blazers 105 at Suns 100

At Phoenix, Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and tied his career playoff high with 31 points as short-handed Portland stole homecourt advantage from the Suns.