Pulling up from deep, D’Angelo Russell swished a 3-pointer to give host Los Angeles an insurmountable 24-point lead with nine minutes left on Monday night. It was the third straight 3-pointer for Russell in one minute.
The outside shot invoked a loud celebration by the crowd as OKC was forced to call a timeout. It also served as the dagger in a tough road loss for the Thunder.
With the 116-104 loss to the Lakers, OKC lost the last three contests in the teams’ four-game season series.
“The start was good offensively but our overall sharpness just was there, even during that stretch,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I thought we tried to drum that up a couple of different times but weren’t obviously able to do it offensively. … Certainly not our fastball tonight.”
With a hot start, the Thunder built a 12-point lead over the Lakers. After that stretch though, they never looked comfortable the rest of the way.
The Lakers scored 11 straight points and exited the first quarter tied at 25. The Thunder couldn’t recover. OKC was outscored, 27-18, by Los Angeles in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing 52-43.
The halftime break didn’t help. The Thunder were outscored, 37-29, by the Lakers the third quarter. This included a 23-8 run by Los Angeles that pushed its lead to double-digit points.
The Lakers entered the fourth quarter with an 89-72 lead. Any hopes of an OKC comeback were quickly dashed when Los Angeles went on an 11-2 run in the opening three minutes to push its lead to a game-high 25 points.
“They caught some confidence and caught a rhythm in the second half and we had a hard time turning them off,” Daigneault said. “Some of those shots were really, really tough but there were some controllable stuff prior to that I wish we took care of.”
Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Thunder looked exhausted and signs of fatigue grew as the game unraveled. Overall, they shot an ugly 39% from the field and went 15-of-39 (38.5%) from 3.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one of his worst games of the season with 20 points on 13 shots. Jalen Williams was limited to seven points. Chet Holmgren had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, the inconsistent Lakers look their best each time they match up against OKC. That was the case again in their final matchup of the regular season. They shot 51% from the field and went 16-of-34 (47.1%) from 3.
The Lakers also had distinct advantages with 48 points inside the paint and a 18-of-25 night from the free-throw line. For comparison, the Thunder had 36 points in the paint and just 16 free-throw attempts.
Anthony Davis dominated with 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. LeBron James recovered from a slow start and tallied 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
“He’s a load, he’s obviously a very good player,” Daigneault said on Davis. “For us to neutralize him or do a good job on him, we got to have high, high energy and intensity and I didn’t think we had that tonight.”
The Lakers’ role players also enjoyed hot nights. Austin Reaves had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Russell scored 26 points and shot 5-of-11 from 3. Taurean Prince totaled 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3 off the bench.
It seems the Lakers have the Thunder’s number — at least in the regular season. They never looked comfortable throughout most of the night. OKC has looked uncharacteristically lethargic in three of its four matchups with them this season.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C
The usually consistent MVP candidate couldn’t muster any juice against the Lakers, and he had one of his worst outings of the season.
In 30 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points on 5-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. He shot 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.
He was limited to 11 points in the first half. The 25-year-old played only three quarters. He didn’t play in the final frame with the game out of reach. A rare misstep for Gilgeous-Alexander, whose consistency is arguably his biggest strength.
The MVP candidate also noted that the Lakers did an excellent job at playing physically and limiting their chances to run in opportunity.
“Each team tries to impose their will, impose their style in the game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Now clearly tonight, they did that. That’s why they beat us the way they did. We didn’t have enough energy or urgency tonight.”
Getting right to work 💪 pic.twitter.com/SmSavGXAtl
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 5, 2024
Shai 🔎 Josh pic.twitter.com/p5BPUTdSQo
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 5, 2024
Shai spinnin' 🌪️#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/rAfQKtCGpE
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 5, 2024
Lu Dort: B
One of the few positives for the Thunder in this ugly loss, Dort showed out against the Lakers.
In 24 minutes, Dort had 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, two rebounds and two assists. He shot 5-of-7 from 3. He scored 12 points in the first half as OKC’s offense struggled to generate buckets.
It was one of Dort’s better outside shooting games of the season. The outside shot helped the Thunder stay in it until the Lakers pulled away late in the second half. He also didn’t play in the final frame.
LUUU 🎯#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/38qBqSY9kU
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 5, 2024
Take it on defense ⏭ Lu from downtown 🎯 pic.twitter.com/JOEAKaGv2n
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 5, 2024
Threes to start the third 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Gd2aZkcyhQ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 5, 2024
Chet Holmgren: C-minus
For a second straight night, Holmgren struggled to contain his matchup against a beefy big. The rookie center finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds and one block. He shot 2-of-6 from 3.
The 21-year-old totaled 28 minutes. He played just three minutes in the fourth quarter as the Lakers pulled away.
A large reason for this is Davis, who’s had OKC’s number this season — averaging 27 points on 58% shooting, 13 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his four games.
The 30-year-old has been dominant against the small Thunder and proves a real mismatch for them. The 6-foot-10, 253-pound center could be a major problem for OKC if matched up in the playoffs.
“They’ve been playing a long time, they’ve seen a lot of basketball in their time,” Holmgren said on James and Davis. “When they slow the game down and are able to script how it’ll go based on how we’re playing them. … It really plays into their hands and they know that.”
Big Man fader 🪣#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/zpzW6muHWb
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 5, 2024
Chet hustles to put it back 🧼@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/fJMYytY7qa
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 5, 2024
Jalen Williams: D
Just an extremely quiet game for Williams. He finished with seven points on 2-of-9 shooting, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 1-of-3 from 3.
Williams played 26 minutes and only three minutes in the fourth quarter before he was subbed out for the final time.
This was the second-lowest scoring outing of the season for Williams, who was a nonfactor in this loss. The second-year wing has to do better considering he’s blossomed into OKC’s second-best scorer.
J-Dub letting it fly #ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/r3R7oINjbD
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 5, 2024
