Lakers center Andrew Bynum: ‘I just played poorly’

Andrew Bynum’s line in the final box score told only part of the story of his play Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He scored 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting with eight rebounds and five blocked shots in 28 minutes, 57 seconds.

But it was the way Bynum played that forced coach Mike Brown to find someone else to play the key moments of the Lakers’ double-overtime victory over the Thunder. Brown picked Jordan Hill to replace Bynum for the fourth quarter plus OT.

“I was playing terribly and he made the right decision,” Bynum said. “I didn’t play well and Jordan played great, so credit Jordan with the win. He came up big for us, (Devin) Ebanks came up huge and (Steve) Blake made only two 3s, but they were huge.

Bynum’s lack of aggression was overshadowed by the Lakers’ rally from an 18-point deficit in the third quarter, Kobe Bryant scoring 21 of his 26 points after halftime, Hill’s 14 points and 15 rebounds and Metta World Peace’s second-quarter ejection.

Bynum is averaging career-bests of 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds this season, but has come under heavy criticism for some rather immature behavior, including an ill-advised 3-pionter that got him benched for part of a March 27 game against Golden State.

“I just played poorly,” Bynum said after the Lakers’ 114-106 victory over the Thunder. “It’s easily fixable. I don’t think I was posting up hard and they (the Thunder’s defenders) were getting in front of me. I wasn’t being aggressive.”