Short-handed Lakers struggle in loss to Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY — Short-handed and fatigued from a back-to-back, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 133–110 on Thursday as their eight-man rotation struggled to keep pace against a young team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
With a season average of 30.6 points per game this season, young star Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a stellar game-high 31 points for 61.1% on 11-for-18 shooting in 34 minutes of play.
In the final matchup of a week-long road stretch, the Lakers finished 2–2 in that four-game span and dropped to 11–9 after Thursday’s loss.
The Lakers began strong out of the gate, securing a 14-point lead — their largest of the game — finishing the first quarter 37–30. Then, a defensive lapse saw them concede 42 points in the second quarter, marking their highest surrendered points in a quarter this season.
This forced them to play catch-up for the rest of the game, as they could not regain their lead, getting outscored 103–73 the rest of the way.
A good part of their struggles defensively is the absence of position players in and out of the lineup due to injury, with Cam Reddish, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent out of the contest. This trend has affected the Lakers since the start of the season.
“We just have to deal with it in the present and just try to, again, put your best foot forward as best as possible,” head coach Darvin Ham said.
Anthony Davis had a huge presence inside the paint early on and maintained it throughout. Despite Oklahoma City switching to a zone defense to stop Davis from hurting them inside, he still finished with solid numbers, tallying 31 points and 14 rebounds during his 35 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ bench struggled throughout the contest, contributing only seven points through three quarters before mustering 28 points after the game’s outcome had already been determined.
“We have to be better,” Austin Reaves said.
Reaves was the only bench player to finish with over seven points, tallying 14 points on 5-of-9 (55.5%) shooting from the field in 28 minutes.
LeBron James had a solid night, but the injuries and fatigue from a back-to-back weren’t a good combination in the Lakers’ favor, as he finished with 21 points on 4-for-8 shooting from three and 7-for-12 (58.3%) overall, adding 12 rebounds and six assits in 35 minutes.
After the positive update regarding his 19-year-old son, Bronny James, who experienced cardiac arrest during a team workout at USC in July and subsequently underwent successful surgery to address what the James family described as a probable congenital heart condition, LeBron explained that he would miss a Lakers game to attend his son’s first college game if USC played the same day as Los Angeles.
“I definitely gotta see Bronny’s first college game whenever he’s cleared and ready to go,” LeBron said. “I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we’re playing, I’m going to have to catch them the next game.”
Bronny is scheduled for a final evaluation by USC staff this week. According to a statement from a spokesperson for the James family on Thursday, Bronny is expected to begin practice next week and return to action.
The Lakers will face the Houston Rockets at home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before the start of the in-season tournament week in Las Vegas.
