SGA, Thunder play spoiler to LeBron again
The Thunder loves being the spilled milk on LeBron James’ gold-lined, marble floors.
It started with spoiling one of the most precious nights of his career — his long awaited leap atop NBA history by passing Kareem Abdul-Jabaar as the league’s all-time leading scorer in February.
James, similarly powerful to his younger self even at 38 years old, needs plenty of rest. He’s happened to use his trips to Oklahoma City as opportunities in recent years. Before Thursday, he hadn’t played in OKC since Dec. 10, 2021.
And after James became available just before tipoff Thursday, the young Thunder gripped his red carpet and lit it aflame in a 133-110 win over the Lakers.
“It’s a lot more serious,” Jalen Williams said on the shift in approach from opposing teams. “This might’ve been one of the games where they might rest people. … Now I think teams are taking us more serious.
“I think everybody’s kinda starting to respect us a little more.”
Los Angeles could only take OKC’s eventual 37-point turnaround as seriously as a heart attack. It struck just as fast, ripping through the Lakers’ chests with similar force.
The Lakers grew stunned when its once fruitful Anthony Davis postups slowly deteriorated. Davis, who finished with 31 points and 14 boards, had 15 of those points in the first quarter.
Davis lined up for Chet Holmgren’s busy week of reminders that these are the pros, following acts from Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert. He floated hook shots over Holmgren’s lanky hands. He’d push his unibrow into Holmgren’s bird chest before turning around for silky jumpers. It saw the rookie pick up two early fouls.
Then OKC dialed in. Its lineups collectively pinned down Davis near the rim. Players like Isaiah Joe, who finished with 10 points and three blocks, found themselves raking in rebounds in traffic. Or stunting and flying through lanes.
Or shading Davis’ existing double teams to take away the looks the Lakers once enjoyed.
Joe’s fourth-quarter block on Davis’ dunk attempt almost single handedly prevented a late Laker run.
By halftime, LA was shooting 44.7% from the field. All the while, the Thunder ran all over the Lakers’ chances.
It scored 26 fastbreak points (11 for 17). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, seamlessly flipping the switch between slow motion and energizer bunny speed, paced his way to 33 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Williams wrapped his arms around lineups sans SGA, adding 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
And with four minutes to play, LA coach Darvin Ham finally gave James — and his fellow Lakers starters — the rest that the Paycom Center has gotten used to seeing.
Thunder on the glass
It hasn’t happened often. But on Thursday, OKC outrebounded the Lakers — and it looked that way for most of the night.
It’s a tradeoff of some of the lineups and things the Thunder experiments with, but its rebounding presence has lurked over an ambitious team like a dark cloud. Returns from Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams have helped, but few existing adjustments will thrust OKC among the league’s leaders.
It’s probably better served aiming to be a middling rebounding team, which Los Angeles entered the night as (18th in RPG).
Don’t get it twisted, though — Davis remains a force, especially when left with a lone defender. The Thunder’s 5146 rebounding win was earned.
Lu Dort soaring for (three) offensive rebounds. Joe getting gritty by diving into crowds. Collectively playing the glass the way this team has pledged time after time. On Thursday, it finally worked.
“I just thought we really exerted ourselves on the game,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “… It was just like an energy win. That’s the theme. We just worked for that win.”
Thunder tip-ins
h Cason Wallace remains wildly efficient. After leading the NBA in 3-point efficiency entering Thursday, Wallace made 2 of 4 3-pointers, making him a 57.5% shooter on the season from deep.
h As confident as Holmgren is, he received a lengthy lesson this week in the NBA’s center course. Still, he’s already projected himself into the league’s array of best big men in less than 20 games. He ended Thursday with 18 points and dropped 33 points and five 3-pointers against Embiid and the Sixers over the weekend. Gobert certainly posed problems, but Holmgren had to look like a rookie at some point, right? Why not against the front runner for the league’s DPOY award. All in a week’s work in the league. “He’s starting to stretch his limits a little bit and we’re good with that because he’s a really talented player,” Daigneault said. “… He’s shown an understanding to this point of what an efficient, impactful, consistent style of play looks like.”