The Sports Report: The Lakers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in impressive fashion
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In order to maximize their chances of avoiding two road play-in games, the Lakers must secure a victory. They have to win if they want a shot at a home play-in game. And the highest aspiration, securing a position among the top six Western Conference teams, is contingent upon a Lakers victory.
“We get that time is critical,” Darvin Ham stated. “And if we want to accomplish our goals, we need to get moving.”
The Lakers appeared to have no limits after their performance at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.
The Lakers appeared to be a dangerous team thanks to LeBron James’s evasive defense, Austin Reaves’s impact on both sides of the court, Anthony Davis’s dominance at the basket, and D’Angelo Russell’s versatility.
The Lakers were commanding throughout their 116-104 victory over the Thunder, who dropped to second place in the Western Conference after the loss. Oklahoma City was unable to recover from even the smallest of deficits.
Russell started the fourth quarter by nudging the ball loose and creating a transition opportunity; Reaves hounded MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; and James blocked a lob at the rim to Chet Holmgren.
“You can’t unwind,” Russell remarked. “In my opinion, they’re the best, aren’t they?” Yeah, you better be prepared to take on those dudes. This is intentional.
The Lakers needed a better start than the Thunder’s blazing start to their second game of a tough back-to-back following Saturday’s loss to the Nuggets.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Lakers found themselves down 20-8. However, they unleashed their trademark defensive intensity, reminiscent of their late-season surge from the previous season, for the first time since before the All-Star break.
The Lakers were on fire for the following seventeen minutes, during which time Oklahoma City managed just 23 points.
A little sloppiness in the second half was soon fixed, and then Russell slammed the door on the Thunder with three three-pointers that got progressively more difficult, which was hilarious.
Despite only scoring 19 points, James grabbed 11 rebounds and had eight assists. Earlier in the day, he was chosen conference player of the week for a record-breaking 68th time.
In the end, Russell scored 26 points, Davis contributed 24 points and 12 boards, and Reaves finished with 16 points (on 8 shots), six boards, and seven assists.
Since January 7th, the Thunder’s 104 points were the fewest allowed by the Lakers. The Lakers have won three games in a row against the Thunder, whom they might potentially meet in the first round of the playoffs.
On Wednesday, another team the Lakers are trying to catch up to is Sacramento.
“That’s a game of paramount importance. There will be two games against them in the coming week or so, according to Davis. Both that game and the one next week will be major events. We need to enter and attend to this matter immediately.
They demonstrated on Monday that they were aware of the requirements. At this point, all they can do is continue.
