Kobe Bryant approached Lakers coach Phil Jackson about guarding Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook in Tuesday night's Game 5.

Jackson said Bryant approached him and said, "I'd like to guard Westbrook."

He added: "It takes a much higher activity level (to guard Westbrook). It's every play. There's no time off on defense. It told me what his determination was, whether his knee was better or not (I don't know)."

Westbrook ended up scoring 15 points on 4-for-13 shooting as Los Angeles was victorious.

"I enjoy the challenge," Bryant said. "He's been playing sensational, and if we're going to be eliminated I don't want to go into the summer thinking I could've done something about it, so I accepted the challenge."

Lakers forward Pau Gasol sees the team's Game 5 battle against the Thunder on Tuesday night as the biggest game of the season.

The teams are tied at two games apiece.

"It's a must-win for us," Gasol said after Monday's practice. "They can afford to lose the game and then go back to Oklahoma and try to do their thing again and force that Game 7 ... We can't afford to lose this game.

"It's really a game where we want to establish ourselves and send a message to them that they might be playing well, they're played really well at home, they got two games, but that's all they're going to get ... We got to play harder, we got to play smarter than them and make sure we make a statement in that Game 5 and make them understand that there's no chance, there's no light."

Oklahoma City dominated Los Angeles in Game 4, but coach Phil Jackson wants his team to forget about the outcome.

"We have to let that one go down the drain and flush it down the toilet and let it go," Jackson said. "You don't have to bring it back up again and analyze it."

ESPN's Ric Bucher is doing his best to deny rumors that Oklahoma City could be a potential landing spot for Raptors forward Chris Bosh this summer.

Bosh is expected to hit the free agent market.

"And in case it comes up again: Bosh-to-OKC has zero chance of happening for more reasons than I can list in 140 characters," Bucher wrote on his Twitter page.

The Thunder evened up their first-round series with the Lakers thanks to a blowout win in Game 4.

"It's all on us," said Kevin Durant. "We control our own destiny at this point."

Oklahoma City is guaranteed a trip back home and two more wins would complete one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.

"We did what we were supposed to do," coach Scott Brooks said. "We have to somehow get a game in L.A."

The Raptors struggled down the stretch, which has sparked rumors that forward Chris Bosh could leave the team as a free agent this summer.

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes that Bosh, "could be [Dwyane] Wade's sidekick just by signing with Miami and there's even talk that Oklahoma City (close to his Dallas home) will make a run to pair him with Kevin Durant."

Lakers forward Ron Artest admitted after Thursday's Game 3 loss to the Thunder that the defending-champions got complacent.

"We just fell asleep. We probably thought we had it in the bag," said Artest. "In this game, especially, you've got to respect the possessions. ... You really can't take it for granted."

Los Angeles led Oklahoma City 10-0 early on, but the Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter at a frenzied Ford Center.

Oklahoma City?s Scott Brooks is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2009-10 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.

Brooks totaled 480 points, including 71 first-place votes, from a panel of 123 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

In his first full season at the helm in Oklahoma City, Brooks guided the Thunder to a 50-32 (.610) season and the organization?s first playoff berth since 2005. Brooks coached the Thunder ? the NBA?s youngest team ? to an NBA-best 27-game turnaround following a 23-59 (.280) record in 2008-09.

Scott Skiles and Nate McMillan finished second and third in voting respectively.

The Thunder have scheduled a press conference for Wednesday afternoon and they are expected to announce coach Scott Brooks as the recipient of the NBA's Coach of the Year award.

"Thunder announce press conference this afternoon with Scott Brooks. Hmmm. Connecting the COY dots," Art Garcia of NBA.com wrote on his Twitter page.

Thunder forward Kevin Durant is tired of answering questions about Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Durant, typically easy-going, got riled up when asked about his reaction to Jackson's comments about the referee's treatment of the forward last week.

"Do you think I overreacted?" Durant asked.

"Nah, I didn't overreact. Why, because I'm a third-year player I can't say nothing back to Phil Jackson? I'm standing up for myself and what I believe in. I really don't say nothing to too many people in this league who say stuff about me and our team and how I play and how we play. But I felt I had to say something back.

"I'm always quiet. I'm always nice and (respectful) to other people, not just on the basketball floor but off the basketball floor, like you guys. But I felt at that time I had to take up for myself. It is what it is. It's over with. It had nothing to do with this series."

Thunder forward Jeff Green has been added to the Team USA roster by USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.

Green joins Oklahoma City teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who were selected to the original 27-man roster in February.

"It's a good opportunity for me," Green said Monday. "It's something that I wanted and I got it. I've just got to make the best of it."

Other additions include Golden State's Stephen Curry, Sacramento's Tyreke Evans, Boston's Rajon Rondo and Detroit's Tayshaun Prince.