Down 2–0 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers return to Crypto.com Arena searching for the sustained play they have yet to show in the series, LeBron James said after Game 2.
“We played well in spurts,” James told reporters via SB Nation. “We were able to take a five-point lead in the third quarter and then they made a run. That fourth quarter, they kept scoring.”
The Lakers dropped both games in Oklahoma City despite stretches in which their defensive game plan clicked and quality shots were generated. Maintaining that level, James stressed, remains the missing piece.
Rebounding now the top concern
Turnovers were expected to be an issue entering the matchup, but James pointed elsewhere when assessing Game 2. “Offensively, we’ve had some really good looks. Some of them haven’t gone down,” he said. Instead, he highlighted second-chance opportunities.
“I think tonight we did a good job with our first defense,” James noted. “But we gotta clean the glass. You can’t give up second-chance points.”
Oklahoma City has not overwhelmed Los Angeles on the offensive boards numerically, yet the Thunder have converted extra possessions into momentum-shifting points, a sequence James acknowledged can be “deflating.”
Clear path forward at home
Trailing without the cushion a star such as Luka Doncic might provide, the Lakers face a narrow margin for error. James outlined a straightforward formula: limit empty possessions, control the glass and sustain intensity for the entire game.
“We’ve shown it in pieces. Now we need all of it,” he said.
The best-of-seven series resumes in Los Angeles, where the Lakers will attempt to cut the deficit and validate the confidence drawn from those intermittent stretches of effective play.
Source: Hoops Wire
