So that erases the stink from the Memphis loss from Tuesday night.
They had no LeBron James. No D’Angelo Russell. Anthony Davis was a late scratch because of a “scheduled day off.” But this Lakers team went ahead and got the job done as they defeated the Thunder in Oklahoma City, 123-117.
The Lakers mostly cleaned up their mistakes from their game against Memphis. They only had 13 turnovers (OKC had 11), which was half of what they did against the Grizzlies. And once they got the lead in the third quarter, they never relinquished it, even if the Thunder threatened a few times.
Los Angeles outshot their opponents from three for the second straight game. They made 16 threes (four from Troy Brown Jr. and three each from Malik Beasley, Dennis Schröder, and Mo Bamba) while the Thunder went cold in the second half to end with 11. It’s really nice to see some reliable snipers from outside. It should make a huge difference as the Lakers go into the homestretch.
The Lakers led in double digits in the fourth. It was still 8 with two minutes left but I didn’t like that the Lakers let the Thunder get into the paint rather easily. I understand about concession baskets but there was still plenty of time to go in the game. At least, they ran the clock down on the offensive end. In the end, it didn’t bite the Lakers badly.
The Lakers seemed to relish the freedom they got since they didn’t have to defer as much to stars. 6 Lakers scored in double figures. Dennis Schröder, after a bad first half (and also hurting his ankle), was nearly unstoppable in the second half. He scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime. Troy Brown, Jr. went for 19 points as did Austin Reaves, who converted all five of his field goal attempts. It was nice to see Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley just shoot away. Lonnie Walker IV was a very aggressive driver; he shot 11 free throws. And Rui Hachimura was quite the rim protector in the second half; he blocked three shots.
OKC was led by Jalen Williams (of the first round variety; Jaylin Williams was picked in the second round) with 24 points. Josh Giddey nearly had a triple-double with 22-9-11. Lu Dort had 19 points but only went 1 for 7 from three.
I mentioned Walker’s 11 foul shots. The Lakers actually had 39 free throws. They were going to the cup quite a bit on Wednesday night. It’s good that they took advantage of the Thunder’s lack of interior defenders. The points in the paint will tell otherwise (60-34 in favor of the Thunder) but the free throws tell a different story (+15 for the Lakers).
The Lakers go back home for five straight games at Crypto Dot Com. Hopefully, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell will be back by Friday against Minnesota. Also, the Lakers only have two more back-to-back sessions left. I’m honestly not a fan of “scheduled off days” if there’s nothing wrong with Davis, especially since there’s a play-in/playoff spot on the line.
Nevertheless, the Lakers are 30-33 with 19 games to go. They’re currently sitting in 11th place. They just have to keep chipping away.
