LeBron James tries to remain optimistic after a blowout loss to the reigning NBA champions.
The Los Angeles Lakers got run off the floor on Thursday, losing 139-96 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was the second time this season that the Thunder beat the Lakers by 29+ points. Their first game of the season, back on November 12, ended 121-92 in favor of the reigning NBA champions.
Oklahoma City jumped out to a 9-2 lead, and the Lakers never really got back in the game from there. With 6:37 remaining in the first quarter, the Lakers cut the lead to 18-9.
That was the last time they would get the game to single digits.
The Thunder led 44-21 after the first quarter and 82-51 at the half. OKC pushed the lead to 46 points at one point, and by the five-minute mark of the third quarter, the Lakers had waved the white flag.
LeBron James Keeps Calm
After the game, James praised the Thunder defense and their ball pressure, noting their length and activity on the defensive end.
He also tried to keep things in perspective with his team.
"Nothing is rattled. It's one game, it's part of the NBA season against the NBA champions," he said.
Though the Lakers entered the game third in the West and winners of 16 of their last 19, the two teams looked on different levels on Thursday.
Different Levels
The Thunder forced 18 turnovers, leading to 24 points. They had 32 points on the fast break and 64 points in the paint. A hot shooting night didn't help the Lakers defense as OKC hit 19 threes, shooting 45% from deep.
The only area the Lakers won the game was at the free-throw line, knocking down 21 of 27 attempts compared to 10 of 13 for the Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved to be the best player on the court, scoring 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Luka Doncic suffered an unfortunate hamstring in the third quarter, but had his poorest game of the season prior to that, scoring 12 points on 3-10 shooting (1-7 from three) with four rebounds, seven assists, and six turnovers.
Figuring It Out
Luka is set to miss the rest of the regular season with his hamstring injury, which means roles on the Lakers will shift. More responsibility will fall on Austin Reaves and Lebron, who has looked more comfortable playing as a third option in recent weeks.
LeBron said after the game that he wasn't sure what his new role will be.
Los Angeles still has an easy path to the third seed as they hold the tiebreaker over the Denver Nuggets, who are one game behind them, and have winnable games against the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Golden State Warriors.