Thunder End Lakers’ Winning Streak With 119-110 Victory in Los Angeles
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The Los Angeles Lakers saw their recent surge halted on Monday night, falling 119-110 to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.
The matchup featured two teams whose leading MVP candidates—Luka Doncic for Los Angeles and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City—remained sidelined by injuries. In their absence, the Thunder’s depth carried the night.
Slow start gives way to early Thunder advantage
Both offenses struggled to find rhythm in a physical opening period. Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart hit the Lakers’ first three-pointers, while Isaiah Joe’s perimeter shooting gave Oklahoma City a 31-30 edge after one quarter. Early in the second, consecutive turnovers sparked a 14-0 Thunder burst that pushed the margin to double figures before Smart’s three-point play halted the run. Los Angeles trimmed the gap to 67-58 at halftime despite continued miscues.
Lakers briefly reclaim lead in third quarter
Rui Hachimura, Smart and LaRavia opened the third with three straight threes, cutting the deficit to three. LeBron James then attacked the paint to hand Los Angeles its first lead since the opening minutes, and the advantage grew to eight. Jaylin Williams answered with back-to-back triples, and an Austin Reaves technical for arguing a non-call helped Oklahoma City close the period ahead 93-91.
Thunder close out in the fourth
Alex Caruso scored repeatedly early in the final quarter, and the teams traded baskets until the visitors built a five-point cushion entering the final three minutes. Hachimura’s corner three and a Smart layup cut the difference, but the Lakers failed to string together stops, allowing the Thunder to secure the win.
What’s next
The Lakers complete a back-to-back Tuesday when they host the San Antonio Spurs, then finish the first half of the season Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Source: Lakers Nation
