The Los Angeles Lakers were at the wrong end of a massive blowout against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. They lost 121-92 in a game that the Thunder had control of from the very opening tip. They led by 32 at halftime and by 36 after three quarters, while Luka Doncic struggled mightily against OKC’s elite defensive attack.
Doncic finished with just 19 points on 7-for-20 from the field, turning the ball over four times compared with seven assists. He was outdueled by Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting with nine assists — in what was one of L.A.’s first real tests of the season against a Western Conference contender.
This game could be a signal as to how far away the Lakers still are from being championship contenders. And Luka bore the responsibility for the way things transpired in the massive loss, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Yeah definitely wasn’t our best game… Probably one of the worst this season. But they did a great job, I think (Cason) Wallace did a great job on me. They are champions for a reason, so they showed that today. I think we need to be more ready. It starts with me, I need to be way better than that. Just gotta figure it out.”
Doncic rebuffed the idea, though, that a loss like this is concerning for the team’s long-term contention hopes this season, instead wanting to shift the narrative to use the loss as motivation to make quick improvements this season:
“I think it’s not concerning, I think it’s more big motivation. Like I said, they were champions for a reason and it’s a big motivation at the start of the year, even better, it’s a big motivation to see how they play and try to stop them.”
The Lakers are going to have plenty of measuring stick games in a crowded Western Conference playoff picture. But none are more important than the ones against the Thunder, as they are currently the gold standard and reigning NBA champions.
L.A. does not see the Thunder again until Feb. 9, 2026. This gives them about three months to work on the issues that plagued them on Wednesday night, before another chance to test themselves against the league’s best.
Austin Reaves has blunt assessment of Lakers loss
Austin Reaves and the Lakers got off to a strong start to the season, although they took a big step back on Wednesday night when they were blown out by the defending champion Thunder.
Reaves had his worst game, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists on 4-of-12 shooting in 30 minutes as the Thunder’s defense made it tough for both him and Doncic.
After the wire-to-wire loss, Reaves discussed where he felt things started to go wrong and was blunt in his assessment.
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