Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Tough Shooting Night in Loss to Lakers

Not every night can be your night, which was proven true by the Oklahoma City Thunder's 129-120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night.

The Thunder were riding a wave of momentum after defeating the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers, but fell short against another tough Western Conference team. The hot 3-point shooting its had all season crumbled, shooting just 13-of-41 on the night.

LeBron James dominated the Oklahoma City defense, dropping a vintage 40-point performance added with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals and blocks. The Thunder found no way to handle the all-time great, allowing him to lead the Lakers to break their own five-game losing streak.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

Off-Nights are Bound to Happen

The Thunder may be second in 3-point percentage in the entire NBA this season, but not every game can be a shooting masterpiece.

Oklahoma City went ice-cold throughout the game, missing wide-open looks right and left when the team needed the points most. It shot 13-of-41 total, with a 1-of-6 outing from both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Joe, and a 1-of-5 night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Shooting 38% from behind the arc every game is unsustainable, but shooting this poorly probably isn't sustainable either. The Thunder have shown the capability of being an efficient offense all season, so one bad game shouldn't begin a trend.

Teams have to take advantage of open looks, especially against an opponent that features James and Anthony Davis. Oklahoma City didn't show up to the occasion last night, but it will surely rebound quickly.

It was Jalen William's Night, at Least

Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander's typical 30-point production, Jalen Williams had a fantastic night for Oklahoma City all around.

The forward scored 28 points, six rebounds and three assists on 11-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-5 from outside. He hit difficult shots all game unlike most of the Thunder roster, highlighted by a buzzer-beating fadeaway out of bounds at the end of the first quarter.

Williams is averaging 17.4 points per game this season, good for the second highest on the roster. He's continued to progress from his strong rookie year, cementing himself as an important piece for Oklahoma City not only now, but in the long-term future.

It's been encouraging to see Williams' development, becoming a usually reliable high-teens scoring option for a top team in the West. An All-Star selection may not be out of the question in February if he continues to keep up his production, especially if the Thunder are still a top three seed in the conference.

A Tough Stretch of Games

The Thunder is in the midst of potentially its most difficult stretch of the season.

It started with the Nuggets, followed by the Grizzlies and Clippers in three-straight wins. The Nuggets and Clippers are towards the top of the standings in the West, full of superstar caliber players.

Even though the Lakers were on a five-game losing streak heading into the contest, a team with James and Davis at the helm is going to be a dangerous opponent no matter what. Los Angeles has been in contending mode for years, gaining a ton of championship experience.

The rest of Oklahoma City's schedule in December follows as this: vs Minnesota Timberwolves, vs New York Knicks, at Denver Nuggets, vs Brooklyn Nets.

Both the Timberwolves and Nuggets are the only teams ahead of the Thunder in the West, while the Knicks stand at the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, followed by the Nets in ninth. Each game has a quality opponent that is more than capable of beating Oklahoma City, making for an incredibly important late-December stretch.

To continue to stand at the same position in the West, winning at least half of these games will be crucial. It will be a test at the legitimacy of whether or not Oklahoma City is a true title contender.

While continuing the winning streak would've been nice, the Thunder have to look ahead from the poor shooting effort and face an intimidating stretch of games in the coming week.

It will begin against the No. 1 seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, led by the duo of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. It will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 7:00 p.m. CT in Paycom Center.

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