The Los Angeles Lakers couldn't keep up with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
The Los Angeles Lakers battled it out to the very end with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it wasn't enough to outlast the best team in the NBA and the Thunder went home with the 119-110 win.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 22 points while shooting 9-17 from the field along with six assists and 10 assists while Marcus Smart followed with 19 points.
Austin Reaves had another strong showing with 16 points off the bench while he continues to ease his way back in since returning from injury, but their combined efforts weren't enough in the end.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36) shoots the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesA Lack of Execution
Despite the loss, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was happy with the way that his team fought against their tough competition, but chalked up the loss to a series of technical errors throughout the game.
"When you play the best teams, and Oklahoma City is the best team, you have to have a really high level of effort and a really high level of execution, it's got to be both," Redick said (via The Sporting Tribune). "I thought for the most part our effort was fantastic and in key stretches of the game our execution wasn't great."
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) dribbles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesWithout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder were led by Jalen Williams with 23 points. The failure to contain Williams as well as the three point shooting displayed by players like Lu Dort and Isaiah Joe were the points of contention with Redick's assessment of his team's execution.
The Lakers' defensive schemes fell apart as the game went on and the Thunder took advantage of those errors to storm ahead as the game went on. The real game changer came in the second quarter as the Thunder outscored the Lakers by eight points and that lead they build up early in the game made the difference by the end.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Kennard (10) dribbles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesLooking Ahead
Even if the Lakers fell to the Thunder, the fact that they fought for so long bodes well for their chances come playoff time.
This loss could be a lesson for Los Angeles and could give the team some understanding of what it will take in the playoffs.
The Lakers are working short-handed without Luka Doncic and with Austin Reaves on a minutes restriction, so the Lakers at full strength could have made Monday's game an entirely different situation.
All that's left now for the Lakers is to try and flush this game and focus on adjusting their execution in the future.