After losing a tough one to the Utah Jazz on the road this past weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home to Crypto.com Arena to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Head coach Darvin Ham reverted back to the original starting five for the 2023-24 season to help the team get back on track.
The last time the two teams met, the Lakers pulled off an improbable win and the Thunder came into the evening looking for revenge. However, Los Angeles was able to match them on both ends of the floor before taking control in the fourth to snap their losing streak.
Although Anthony Davis recorded just his second-career triple-double in the loss to the Jazz, it was bad shooting night for him. However, Davis has a knack for rebounding from poor performances and he did it again against the Thunder.
Davis was aggressive early and often, looking to take things right at Chet Holmgren for baskets at the rim. The two battled the entire night, but Davis brought the house down when he rolled into the paint and dunked over the rookie.
AD put Chet on a poster! pic.twitter.com/EaejZGE6fB
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) January 16, 2024
Davis led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting and recorded 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.
LeBron James returned to the lineup after missing the game against Utah and the time off did him well as he looked spry on the floor. James was once again too physical for the Thunder front court, but he also got the best of them with his jumper.
James was right behind Davis in the scoring column as he dropped 25 points plus seven rebounds and six assists.
Jarred Vanderbilt has looked more and more like himself the past few games, but his performance against Oklahoma City was his most encouraging yet. Vanderbilt’s energy off the bench was a sight to see as he was all over the floor, especially defensively where he wreaked havoc in stretches.
Vanderbilt only scored five points, but he pulled down four rebounds, dished two assists and came up with three steals in just 18 minutes.
What’s next for Lakers
Los Angeles gets a great opportunity to climb back up the standings as their next five games will be at home. The Lakers take on the the Dallas Mavericks, followed by the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. They’ll then close out the weekend with a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
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