The Thunder had been stepping over pretty much every team in the NBA this 2024-25 campaign, until the past few days, when they’ve faced two of the best teams in the Western Conference, falling to two-straight defeats, and missing out on the chance of winning 70 games this regular season.
This Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma City lost to the Lakers, who blew them out with a 27-point difference, at 126-99 at Paycom Center. With this victory, the purple and gold prove they have what it takes to contend for the title, inspired by superstar Luka Doncic.
LeBron James is convinced that the squad is growing used to playing with each other and ready to go big. “We know it’s the final stretch into the full season, so we’re just trying to rack up great habits,” said the all-time leading NBA scorer. “Luka was spectacular.”
The Slovenian guard was able to puncture through OKC’s compacted defensive line, dropping 30 points and handing out six assists. Los Angeles led the charge against the Thunder, scoring 42 points in the first quarter and then leading the rest of the game by at least 10 points the rest of the way.
“Very committed to what we were trying to do defensively and very committed to where we felt like we could generate good shots offensively against a terrific defense,” expressed Lakers coach JJ Redick. “And there wasn’t any letup to that. There weren’t any overreactions.”
One of the reasons behind the purple and gold’s success was how precise they shot all night. The L.A. team made a season-high 22 three-pointers, and dominated the airwaves with offensive rebounds.
“We know that they’re very good when it comes to one, getting into the paint, attracting a lot,” LeBron shared postgame. “They do a great job of getting [to] the free-throw line. They do a great job of getting offensive rebounds at second-chance points and those are some of the controllables that you control.”
