Lakers Highlights: LA Rides Elite Defense to Dominant Win Over No. 1-Seeded OKC Thunder
A brutal start that saw L.A. trail by as many as 12 early in the first quarter quickly turned into a complete blowout, with the Lakers leading by as much as 25 en route to a 116-104 victory.
The final score was closer than it was, as the last few minutes were exclusively garbage time. Before that, OKC had under 100 points, indicating a huge statement win for L.A., driven by their defense, as they pulled away in the season series 3-1.
For L.A., D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis combined for 50 points, with LeBron James and Austin Reaves adding well-rounded performances of 19/11/8 and 16/6/7, respectively.
For OKC, everyone was fairly bad outside of Lu Dort, who hit five of his seven 3-point attempts. MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and star second-year player Jalen Williams both had one of their worst games in a while, with L.A. suffocating OKC inside the arc and taking away their typically high-value looks.
Here are some of LA's top plays on the day, highlighted by a three-play series from D'Angelo Russell that put the game away:
