LOS ANGELES – Lakers coach JJ Redick warned his team about the dangers of turning the ball over against the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After struggling with ball security for half of Monday night’s game at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers cleaned things up.
But what the Lakers struggled with throughout was securing defensive rebounds against a Thunder team that thrives on taking advantage of the margins afforded them, which led to the Lakers falling to the Thunder 119-110 on the first night of their home game.
After struggling to take care of the ball and turning the ball over 10 times for 20 Oklahoma City points, which helped the Thunder take a 14-point lead in the second quarter, the Lakers turned the ball over just five times in the second half. for three Oklahoma City points.
But the Lakers couldn’t overcome the Thunder and increased their margins on the offensive glass, with Oklahoma City scoring 24 second-chance points.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, his third consecutive game with a points-assist double-double.
Marcus Smart scored 19 points, while Austin Reaves had 16 points and seven assists off the bench.
What it means
The Lakers fell to 32-20 with the loss and remained in fifth place in the Western Conference standings after having a chance to move up to number four.
Their three-game winning streak also came to an end.
The Lakers haven’t won more than three straight games since late November.
Turning point
When Cason Wallace grabbed the offensive rebound at 5:04 of the fourth quarter, it led to a layup by Jalen Williams, putting the Thunder ahead 102-99 with just over five minutes left.
Up until that point in the game, the Lakers and Thunder were trying to create separation after both teams went on a run to create significant leads.
But the Thunder’s advantage on the glass at that point included an overnight trend of Oklahoma City winning around the margins.
The Lakers didn’t have another one the rest of the game, trailing by at least three points over the final five minutes.
MVP: Isaiah Joe
During a game where both teams were missing their MVP candidates, the outcome would come down to which role players would step up.
Joe did that early for the Thunder with his three-point shooting and cuts to the basket, giving the Thunder a 31-30 lead after the first quarter and a 67-58 lead at halftime.
He scored nine points, all three-pointers, in the first quarter and seven in the second. He finished the game with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Game stat: 10
That’s the most second-chance points the Thunder scored than the Lakers, leading 24-14 for the game.
Oklahoma City grabbed five more offensive rebounds than the Lakers, and was more successful in capitalizing on those extra scoring opportunities.
Next
The Lakers close out their back-to-back set Tuesday night when they host the Spurs.
The Spurs, who are No. 2 in the West standings, are on a four-game winning streak and have won nine of their last 12 games.
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