Fighting an Oklahoma City Thunder in high form, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers finally rediscovered the feeling of victory.

Having experienced 4 consecutive defeats and only 1 win in 2 weeks since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament championship earlier this month, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed to be backed into a corner.

They aim to force a win in their trip to Paycom Arena against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that is in high form with 5 wins in the last 6 matches.

Knowing clearly that this was not an easy challenge, the leader of the yellow and purple team spoke up to lead the Lakers to an important victory.

LeBron James played his best game of the season, hitting a season-high with 40 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 129-120 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 38-year-old superstar achieved extremely high efficiency in finishing with 13-20 FG, 9-9 FT and especially “no misses” from outside the 3-point range with 5-5 3PT. These statistics go still tied with 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks.

The Lakers at one point led OKC by 26 points midway through the third quarter before a bit of laxity narrowed the gap to 8 points in the fourth quarter.

However, LeBron James shined as an example for his juniors, scoring 11 consecutive points alone to drown out his opponent’s comeback efforts.

Anthony Davis, who called this a must-win game 2 days ago, contributed 26 points and 7 assists. Rui Hachimura maintained his sublime streak with 21 points, while Austin Reaves nearly reached a double-double with 11 points and 9 assists.

This important away victory helps the Los Angeles Lakers break a series of 4 consecutive defeats (further, 5 defeats in 6 matches since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament), entering the Christmas series with a spirit of excitement. more starting.

“Everyone shot effectively, everyone actively circulated the ball and the whole team handled the ball carefully. That is the key to victory. Today was the day everyone played well and now we need to maintain it in the next matches,” LeBron James said after the match.

At 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 26, LeBron James and his teammates will face the Boston Celtics in the tournament’s annual NBA Christmas Game series.

On the other side of the front line, Oklahoma City Thunder also broke their streak but was on a streak of 3 consecutive victories. Before facing the Lakers today, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates had won 5 of their last 6 appearances.

“They play with the spirit of having nothing to lose and having to do everything to win, which is what helps them play well and maintain high concentration. We are a bit lacking in heat and cannot match the energy they bring,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault shared.

“We let them get into rhythm and when the gap was too big, we didn’t have enough time to come back. This is a good lesson for our young team and a worthy victory for our opponents.”