The Los Angeles Lakers (4-4) and Oklahoma City Thunder (5-0) will continue their best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal series on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, with the opening tip scheduled for 9:30 ET on TNT.

Los Angeles was handed a humiliating 119-90 road loss in Game 1, placing the proud franchise in what many believe is a must-win situation in Game 2. The Lakers' locker room will catch wind that the team is just 2-17 all-time in playoff series when losing the first two games.

There's a glimmer of hope that the Lakers have a chance of evening the series, as they have split four games following a Game 1 loss of 29 or more in their postseason history. The latest such instance came in the 1998 Western Conference finals against the Utah Jazz, resulting in a four-point loss in Game 2 and ultimately getting swept in four games.

Over the last two-plus seasons, Los Angeles has tallied a 25-11 record following a double-digit loss, including a 10-2 mark during the 2011-12 campaign.

Kobe Bryant is averaging 28.0 points during the 2012 NBA playoffs, which is likely the amount of points he'll have to score in hopes of heading back to Southern California with a split in the first two games of this series.

He will have a difficult time reaching that number due to his season-high of 26 points against the Thunder coming in a 114-106 double-overtime win in Los Angeles on April 22nd. He played just over 49 minutes in that contest.

Bryant will need to do better than his 20-point total in the series opener, or it will be a long flight home for the five-time champion heading into Game 3 at the Staples Center on Friday night.

Follow on Twitter: @JeffGrantSports