Without Luka Doncic, Lakers come up short against the Thunder
In Lakers coach JJ Redick’s eyes, every team his group faces is a test. Still, many wondered if the litmus test for the Lakers would come when they faced the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
Even with All-Star and league most valuable player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out with an abdominal strain, the Thunder remain a problem for most of the league. And the Lakers had to play in OKC with their own MVP candidate, Luka Doncic, out for the second straight game with a left hamstring strain.
Ultimately, the Lakers failed to hold off the champion Thunder in the decisive fourth quarter of a 119-110 loss at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers (32-19) had six players score in double figures, but the Thunder had seven.
The Lakers shot 50% from the field, but the Thunder shot 48.3% from the field and 42.4% from three-point range.
“I think when you play the best teams, and Oklahoma City clearly is, you know they’re the best team, you have to have a very high level of effort and you have to have a very high level of execution,” Redick said.
LeBron James had 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, Marcus Smart had 19 points, Austin Reaves 16 off the bench, Jake LaRavia 14 and Rui Hachimura and Jaxon Hayes both had 12 points.
“You want me to compare us to them? James answered a question about the gap between the Lakers and Thunder. “They’re a championship team here, we’re not. We can’t sustain our energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
Thunder guard Kenrich Williams teams up with Luke Kennard and Jarred Vanderbilt in the first half.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Reaves gave the Lakers a 99-98 lead on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter.
But the Thunder kept coming back, taking a 109-101 lead while outscoring the Lakers 11-2.
The Lakers also continued to fight back, finding themselves down 113-110 on a Hachimura basket.
But Jalen Williams, who had 23 points in his return to the lineup, continued to score for the Thunder, making a basket, two free throws with 35.9 seconds left and two more with 20.9 seconds left that sealed the game.
“You’re playing the best team in the NBA, and they have more depth there, as much depth as anybody,” Redick said. “They just have a bunch of guys who can hurt you.”
Reaves gave fans a highlight by driving the lane and throwing down a two-handed dunk over Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins to end the first quarter.
But Reaves grew frustrated in the third quarter when no foul was called on one of his drives. He argued too much and received a technical foul from referee Eric Dalen with two minutes and 13 seconds left in the third.
After the game, after Reaves went six of 14 from the field but just one of five from the three-point line, he lamented getting the technology.
“I think I was frustrated that I didn’t get the foul call,” Reaves said. “I got the technology, it hit me a little bit. But yeah, we just thought it was obvious. I told Eric. He was the closest referee. If it was anyone else, I would have told them the same thing. I just didn’t know how all three of them could miss it. So, I was just a little frustrated after that and I couldn’t get back into the flow.”
The Lakers recorded 20 turnovers the last time they played Oklahoma City in a game where Los Angeles was down by as many as 37 points before losing by 29.
So, one of the important things for the Lakers was to take care of the basketball.
They had 10 turnovers in the first half but only five in the second half.
The Lakers didn’t turn the ball over in the fourth quarter, but they shot just 38.1 percent from the field in the final 12 minutes, struggling to score against the Thunder’s stout defense.
“Yeah, they play the game the right way,” Reaves said. “I would say 95 percent of the time they make the right play, make the right read, like you said, and emphasize your defensive rotations. I thought we did a really good job. They made some tough shots. That’s why they’re probably the best team in the league.”
