Andrew Bynum fit in seamlessly with 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks during his first game back from an ankle injury since March 19.
Pau Gasol added 19 and 13 rebounds but it was the defence that allowed the Lakers to survive a rusty performance.
Los Angeles harassed NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant into 7-for-24 shooting and he finished with 24 in his post-season debut.
“We had to work hard as a team to limit his easy touches,” Kobe Bryant told reporters after scoring a team-high 21 despite making just 6 of 19 shots from the field. “It’s tough because (the Thunder) do a good job getting him open. It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.”
The Lakers led the entire game and were up by 17 in the second quarter but they made just 41 percent of their shots and allowed the Thunder to cut into the lead.
Derek Fisher made a timely three-pointer with 1:30 remaining to give the Lakers a 10-point lead after Oklahoma City was threatening in the fourth quarter.
Russell Westbrook had 23 points and eight assists for the Thunder in its first playoff appearance since the franchise moved from Seattle for the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
Over in Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points to lead the second-seed Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to claim a 1-0 series lead. Nowitzki was 12-for-14 from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 at the line. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were the leading scorers for the Spurs with 27 and 26 points respectively.
In Phoenix, the Portland Trail Blazers scored an upset 105-100 win over the Suns to take a 1-0 series advantage. Portland’s Andre Miller led the scoring for his team with 31 points while Steve Nash contributed 25 points for Phoenix. Phoenix guard Amar’e Stoudemire scored 18 points, netting 8 of his 19 shot attempts from the floor.
Meanwhile in the Eastern Conference, Jameer Nelson scored 32 points to lead the Orlando Magic past the Charlotte Bobcats by a 98-89 margin in their series opener.
