Lakers step up defensively to shut down the Thunder
LOS ANGELES » A couple of months ago, Lakers coach Darvin Ham and his staff introduced a new stat: limbo rate, which is supposed to help quantify how well the team does, or does not, move on to the next play.
If the last couple of months have been any indication, the game-to-game limbo rate isn't an issue for this team, with the Lakers bouncing back from Saturday's home loss to the Denver Nuggets with a 116-104 Monday home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Led by D'Angelo Russell (26 points, six rebounds and three assists), Anthony Davis (24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks) and LeBron James (19 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists), the Lakers (34-29) defensively smothered a Thunder (4219) team that entered Monday at No. 1 in the Western Conference standings.
The Lakers haven't lost consecutive games that weren't part of a back-toback set since mid-January.
Austin Reaves (16 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with seven assists and six rebounds) made a pair of 3s late in the first quarter to help get the Lakers back in the game while also being the primary defender against Thunder guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20 points on 5-for-13 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists).
After a slow start, which the Lakers battled back from to tie the game at 25 going into the second quarter after trailing by 12 early (18-6), the home team had full control of the game because of its defense.
The Lakers held the Thunder, who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a Sunday road win over the Phoenix Suns, to 39.4% shooting, one of their worst marks of
BOXSCORE
the season.
The Thunder, one of the league's top-scoring teams, were held to 43 at halftime and 72 at the end of the third, with the Lakers leading by 17 going into the fourth.
Russell hit three consecutive 3s early in the fourth quarters, giving the Lakers a 103-79 lead, a margin that was too large for the Thunder to overcome. His last 3 sent the crowd inside Crypto.com Arena and his team's bench into a frenzy.
Both teams took their main rotation players out late in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers leading 11693. Davis didn't play in the final quarter, with the game already decided.