Filed under: Lakers, NBA Playoffs, Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY — In a corridor deep in the bowels of the Ford Center, a tired Kobe Bryant, the NBA player of the last decade, embraced the guy who could end up being the player of this decade. OK, so maybe second behind LeBron James.

“Oh, man, we’re glad to be done with you guys,” Bryant said to Kevin Durant after Friday night’s game. “Jesus Christ.”

Were Bryant’s Lakers ever glad to escape Durant’s Thunder, a young team as athletic as lightning. It looked as if the series was bound for a seventh game in Los Angeles when Bryant misfired on a 13-foot jumper from the right side as the clock clicked toward all zeroes.

But there came forward Pau Gasol riding a white horse. He tipped in Bryant’s miss with half a second remaining, and the Lakers escaped with a 95-94 win to take the West first-round series 4-2.

“I’m glad we won’t see those young [bleepers] any more,” Bryant, exiting the arena, said when asked by FanHouse about his relief.

But the Lakers will see them plenty in the future, Kobe?

“But not this year,” said Bryant, who scored a game-high 32 points as the Lakers advanced to face Utah in a West semifinal that begins Sunday.

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