Apr 6, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Jalen Williams (8) during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
For the second game in a row, the Oklahoma City Thunder simply didn’t play well. The result of that was a 126-99 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers, dropping their second straight in arguably their worst game of the season.
A simple law of basketball is the team that makes more shots than you normally wins. That was in effect between these two squads, with the Lakers putting the game out of reach before the first half was anywhere near over.
It all started on the perimeter for the Lakers, going 22-for-40 by the game’s end and setting a franchise record for triples made in a single half with 15. Comparatively, OKC’s offensive showing wasn’t good. In reality, however, it wasn’t all that bad. They shot 43.3% from the field and 32.4% from three, but they just couldn’t stop the visiting team on the other side of the ball.
Luka Doncic was the main proprietor of that offensive success, scoring 22 points in the first half and finishing with 30 on 11-for-20 shooting. Austin Reaves, another member of that Lakers room of talented guards, had 15 early ones and 20 at the end of the game.
The strong first-half performances from both Doncic and Reaves propelled them to a 78-56 lead. OKC’s inability to stop Los Angeles from scoring hurt them, but some of that credit needs to be directed at the visiting team. They were hitting shots with high degrees of difficulty, especially Doncic, and there wasn’t much the Thunder could do to stop it.
Opening the third quarter, Doncic and his Lakers continued to easily find holes in the Thunder’s defense. This is uncharacteristic for them, but it doesn’t change the fact that Los Angeles found very exploitable weaknesses. One of those was their pick-and-roll defense, allowing players like center Jaxson Hayes and forward Dorian Finney-Smith to get easy points down low.
At the end of the day, none of that really mattered because of Doncic’s dominance. A combination of Lu Dort and Cason Wallace was nowhere near enough to stop the talented guard. His strength and ability to finish at the rim, while also knocking down five triples, made the difference in the game.
An ugly game for the Thunder didn’t stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from doing what he normally does. He finished with 26 points on 12-for-23 shooting, marking the No. 71 straight game where he scored 20 points or more. The defensive physicality of Los Angeles played a role in Gilgeous-Alexander not exploding for more points, but he still got his own.
Jalen Williams was the second-leading-scorer for the Thunder, ending the day with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. He also added steals steals to his stat line.
Not that there ever was any momentum for the Thunder, but any minor hope of a comeback in the fourth quarter was put to rest after Williams was charged with a flagrant one foul after bringing Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt awkwardly, thwarting any momentum that could have been there.
A team never wants to lose, especially when getting blown out, but the timing of the loss and the way it happened isn’t the worst possible result for OKC. A blowout loss has been a rare occasion for Oklahoma City and it is certainly a good learning experience, especially this late in the season. If anything, the Thunder gained valuable insight and experience after the defeat.
With only four regular-season games remaining, the Thunder will get another chance to take down the Lakers soon. The two square off for Oklahoma City’s next matchup at home at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 8.
Published 19 Minutes Ago|Modified 5:54 PM EDT
