The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 on Monday night, ending their four-game winning streak. Anthony Davis scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and LeBron James scored 25.
The Lakers beat the Thunder in the fourth quarter thanks to 14 points and seven assists from D’Angelo Russell. It was only LA’s sixth win in 18 games, and two of those wins came against Oklahoma City.
James said, “When we have high-assist games and guys are in a rhythm, it’s a pretty good game for us.” “We need to take a look at this and be more steady with that.”
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half while playing with a sprained right knee. The Thunder had their worst scoring performance in 19 games since December 6. There are two of the Thunder’s four losses in their last 16 games that were caused by the Lakers.
While Jalen Williams scored 25 points, Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey both had a tough game, scoring only 17 points between them for the Thunder. They were playing the first of a crucial four-game stretch against some of the West’s best teams. On its road trip, Oklahoma City also plays the Clippers and the Timberwolves, who are in first place in their conference.
“I thought they had a good plan,” Mark Daigneault, the Thunder coach, said. “They planned and carried out the game well.” They had every right to win. We missed the ball a lot. On offense, we didn’t get into a good flow. It wasn’t our best game, but we can learn from it. Some of that was their fault and some of that was ours.
Since the beginning of the season, James has missed four games because of injuries. In the second half, he got 17 points. With 8:53 left in the game, he made a driving layup that gave Los Angeles its first double-digit lead, 93-82.
With 2:05 left, Gilgeous-Alexander’s dunk pulled the Thunder within six points. But with 50 seconds left, James drove the lane and threw the ball to Davis for a two-handed slam that pretty much sealed the win.
“We’ve played together for five years,” Davis said. I think LeBron is a great passer. We just feel that way about each other. Many hours of work, blood, and sweat went into the game so that we could connect.
The Lakers won’t have to leave Los Angeles for two weeks starting today. Last weekend, Davis said that these six games will be very important for their chances of making the playoffs. They’ve been having trouble since early December when they won the first In-Season Tournament. They haven’t been able to get over a string of illnesses or find reliable third-party scorers to help James and Davis.
Davis said, “I think it starts with us on defense to make that push.” I believe that our team is strong when we play defense, and we usually win games when we show what we can do on defense.
There was stiffness in Cam Reddish’s knee, so he didn’t play. The Lakers went back to starting Russell and Austin Reaves in the backcourt, and both of them scored 15 points.
The Lakers led 64–44 in points in the paint because Davis was too active and Holmgren got called for fouls early on.
He added, “The Lakers have size all over the court and good athleticism.” “They’re going to be tough, so you need to hit them back when they hit you.” If you don’t, they’ll try to punch you if you let them.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver went to the game the day before a news conference that was supposed to take place at the Los Angeles Clippers’ still-unfinished Intuit Dome in Inglewood. At that conference, it could be stated that the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend will be held there.