Oklahoma City, Okla. — The Los Angeles Lakers saw their promising start to the season interrupted on Nov. 12, 2025, when the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a wire-to-wire victory at Paycom Center.
Guard Austin Reaves endured his roughest outing of the year, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists while shooting 4-for-12 in 30 minutes. Oklahoma City’s defense also bottled up Luka Doncic, leaving the Lakers searching for answers after falling to 8-4 on the season.
Reaves told Spectrum SportsNet that the game tilted early in the second quarter:
“I think they went on a 10-0 run and we couldn’t get a shot to fall. We were messing up switches on the other end. Once you give this team a sliver of anything, they can run away with it, and that’s what they did.”
The 25-year-old guard accepted responsibility for the defeat, saying the entire roster came up short.
“I didn’t play very well. We as a team didn’t play very well,” he said. “If you don’t play well against a team like that, you’re not giving yourself a chance to win. You have to be locked in to every detail.”
Oklahoma City improved to 12-1 with the victory, strengthening its bid to repeat as NBA champion. Reaves urged the Lakers to use the lopsided result as motivation.
“They did what they wanted to do — they beat the shit out of us tonight,” he said. “We feel we have the pieces to get to their level, but tonight we weren’t close. We’ve got to keep taking steps forward.”
Los Angeles continues to navigate multiple injuries while chasing championship aspirations. Off the court, Reaves is eligible for a significant pay raise in free agency next summer; he has reiterated his preference to remain with the Lakers rather than maximize every dollar on the open market.
Source: LakersNation.com
