Fourth straight loss for Thunder
Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder remain mired on struggle street, with their NBA losing streak hitting four at the hands of the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.
The out-of-sorts Thunder were pipped 108-104 by the Lakers in an early Super Bowl matinee in Oklahoma City to continue their unimpressive recent form.
They have now dropped four straight after rattling off eight consecutive victories in January, and face a tricky next-up visit to defending champs the Golden State Warriors tomorrow.
OKC made a late run to give themselves a sniff at the end but were always playing catchup against the more dialled-in Lakers who led 25-22 after one, 51-49 at the half and 82-79 with a quarter to play.
The Lakers got out by a dozen (105-93) with 2:44 remaining but OKC gave themselves a chance when a Paul George triple with 24 seconds left got them to within a bucket, at 107-104.
But Julius Randle’s free-throw with 17 seconds remaining sealed the deal for the visitors.
Adams, who leads the NBA in offensive rating, had a restrained outing against the Lakers, finishing with 12 points on five-ofeight shooting (and two of two freethrows) to go with five boards and five steals.
Russell Westbrook paced the Thunder with 36 points (15/25 FG, 0/4 3PT), nine assists, five rebounds and seven turnovers, while George knocked down three of his six shots from range to finish with 26 points (10/19 FG), seven boards, three assists and a pair of steals.
Carmelo Anthony had a quiet game for OKC with just 10 points on three-of-13 shooting, though did gobble up 13 rebounds and swat a trio of shots.
The Thunder, with the latest defeat, drop back to 30-24, and 19-9 at home. They are fifth in the West, but losing ground on the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs ahead of them.
The Lakers (21-31) were led by Brook Lopez’s 20 points, five boards and five assists, with Randle adding 19 and Jordan Clarkson 18 off the bench.