The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight in an NBA game live streamed from Oklahoma at 8:00 PM ET.
The return of Kobe Bryant created plenty of excitement and optimism around the Lakers, though it's yet to pay off with a victory.
Without playing on Thursday, the team suffered another loss, losing point guard Steve Blake for several weeks with an elbow injury.
Bryant returned to the floor Sunday, but he's shown a little rust in his first two games back after eight months of rehab for his torn Achilles tendon. He missed nine of 11 shots in a 106-94 loss to Toronto in his debut, but looked better on Tuesday, going 6 of 11 from the field and finishing with a team-high 20 points in a 114-108 loss to Phoenix.
"It's a process," Bryant said. "You just continue to figure out what you can and can't do. Every game, you try to step up and do a little bit more and just go from there."
The Lakers (10-11) haven't lost three straight this season, but they face a tall task Friday against the Thunder (17-4), who are 10-0 at home.
Oklahoma City has won 12 of 13 and has averaged 111.0 points during its latest winning streak, which stretched to four with Wednesday's 116-100 victory at Memphis. Russell Westbrook led the way with 27 points and nine assists while backcourt reserves Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson combined for 35 points.
Like Bryant, Westbrook got hurt in April. But the recovery from his lateral meniscus tear seems to be going well, as Westbrook has averaged 23.0 points and 9.3 assists in Oklahoma City's past three games.
"Russell is calming down, relaxing and just playing his game," Kevin Durant said. "He is getting confidence. We tell him when he does no one can stop him."
Westbrook's eyes seem to light up whenever he sees the Lakers. He's averaged 29.8 points in his last six games against Los Angeles, including the final two games of the 2012 Western Conference semifinals.
Westbrook had 37 points and 10 rebounds when the teams last met in Oklahoma City, a 122-105 Thunder win on March 5.
Durant has scored at least 35 points in four of his last five regular-season meetings with the Lakers.
The game will be live streamed free online on ESPN.com
