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The Lakers took a 10-point lead into halftime against the Thunder, and one of the biggest reason is Los Angeles' strong play in the paint.

In the first half, the Lakers dominated points in the paint, outscoring the Thunder 34-16. Los Angeles also holds a big rebound advantage. With just over seven minutes to play in the third quarter, the Lakers hold a 27-19 rebound edge.

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

Sporting Kansas City entered Saturday losers of three straight so a draw isn't the worst of results, but it is when you were two goals up. After going up 2-0, Sporting allowed the Colorado Rapids to score twice and snatch a draw that has the former undisputed best team in MLS wondering what is going on.

Teal Bunbury got his first start in a while and made it count, scoring twice to put Sporting in front. First he was somehow unmarked at the top of the six-yard box so finishing Seth Sinovic's cross was easy. Matt Pickens then gifted Bunbury a goal when the goalkeeper spilled a cross right at Bunbury's feet to tap in.

Colorado came storming back, though. First, Martin Rivero's free kick found Tyrone Marshall right in front of goal for a simple header that beat Jimmy Nielsen to cut Sporting's lead in half. Later on, a free kick did it again. When the initial attempt was stopped, Conor Casey jumped on the loose ball and crossed for Kosuke Kimura, who tapped the ball in and Sporting's lead was gone, while their winless streak was still very much intact.

With 2.6 seconds to play in the first half, Russell Westbrook slipped running down the court and went down with an apparent hip or ankle injury.

Oklahoma City was inbounding the ball as Westbrook began to sprint down the sideline. As he attempted to plant his foot and come to a stop, he slipped and fell to the court. After laying on the court for several seconds, Westbrook got up and walked to the locker room on his own. Via @cjzero.

It was at least the fourth time a player slipped during the first half. This is the second game played in the Staples Center today and third in the last 24 hours, including ice hockey. Kobe Bryant and Ramon Sessions slipped earlier in the game while dribbling. Westbrook returned to the game for the start of the second half.

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum combined for 30 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 56-46 into halftime.

Bynum was especially effective in the first half, scoring 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Bynum did more than just score, however. He also had seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the first half. Bryant is the leading scorer with 16 points. The Lakers held a 24-14 rebounding advantage over Oklahoma City in the first half.

The Thunder got 36 of their 46 points from their big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Westbrook scored 14 points in the first half to lead Oklahoma City. Durant finished the first half with 12 points and six rebounds. Harden came off the bench to score 10 points but struggled shooting, making 2-of-7 shot attempts.

The Thunder lead the best-of-seven game series 2-1.

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

We're seeing a lot of various opinions on Twitter about the new format NASCAR used this year for the Sprint All-Star Race.

So we gotta ask:

Jimmie Johnson joined an elite club on Saturday night.

In beating Brad Keselowski to the finish of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway by .841 seconds, Johnson won the exhibition event for the third time, tying Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for most all-time.

Matt Kenseth ran third, followed by Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified for the event by winning the preliminary Sprint Showdown.

Johnson was the first to stake his claim to a top spot in the running order, winning the first 20-lap segment after passing polesitter Kyle Busch for the top spot on Lap 15. In winning the first segment, Johnson earned the right to lead the field to pit road before the final 10-lap dash.

Thereafter, Johnson made frequent pit stops and ran behind the rest of the field to save his car for the finish.

Kenseth passed Denny Hamlin with three laps left in the second segment and secured the win in that leg. Like Johnson, Kenseth spent segment No. 3 running at the back while Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne waged an intense battle for the win.

Kahne got a strong run from the high line through Turns 3 and 4, but Keselowski held on to win the segment by .006 seconds.

Earnhardt won segment No. 4 by 1.618 seconds over Marcos Ambrose. After the 20-lap run ended, Johnson, Kenseth, Keselowski and Earnhardt entered pit road in that order, took no tires or gas and came out in those same top four positions for the final 10-lap run.

Of the top four drivers, Keselowski and Kenseth had the freshest tires, having stopped under caution for Greg Biffle's blown engine on Lap 73. But Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was the class of the field and pulled away for the win in an anomalous All-Star race that did not see a single caution for a racing accident.

Here are the full All-Star Race results:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Kyle Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Marcos Ambrose
8. Kurt Busch
9. Kasey Kahne
10. Ryan Newman
11. AJ Allmendinger
12. Regan Smith
13. Jeff Gordon
14. Clint Bowyer
15. Trevor Bayne
16. Paul Menard
17. Tony Stewart
18. David Ragan
19. Bobby Labonte
20. Denny Hamlin
21. Mark Martin
22. Greg Biffle
23. Carl Edwards

Maybe Kobe Bryant should stick to ridiculously difficult turnaround jumpers. When he tried to show off some nifty ball-handling skills, he promptly lost the ball leading to a Derek Fisher steal.

via @BlazersEdge

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.

With the Lakers leading by seven points, Thunder coach Scott Brooks decided to play a little small ball to try to get back into the game.

Oklahoma City is currently using a three-guard lineup with Derek Fisher, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Nick Collison on the floor.

The Lakers have not altered their lineup, which has led to some interesting defensive matchups including Pau Gasol guarding Fisher.

For more on the Lakers, head over to Silver Screen And Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Thunder, head over to Welcome To Loud City.