The Los Angeles Lakers were hanging tough with the Oklahoma City Thunder for most of their Friday night Emirates NBA Cup bout. In fact, the Lakers trailed by just two points with under 30 seconds to go and had a chance to get a stop and get the ball back to force overtime or go for the win.
But Lakers guard Max Christie made the mistake of fouling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, thinking that L.A. had a foul to give. However, they were actually in the bonus so it gave him two free throws and put the Thunder up four with 22 seconds to go. That wasn’t the only late-game execution mistake by L.A., but it certainly stands out.
Christie is aware of the mistake he made and was quick to take responsibility for it after the losing effort. He described the play from his perspective and explained how he looked to head coach JJ Redick and didn’t understand what he was telling him.
“Yeah, it was a misinterpretation on my part,” Christie said. “But regardless, I knew the time and score of the game but I didn’t realize they were in the bonus. And I should have known because they were in the bonus for the last three or four minutes. So yeah, it’s a mental error on my part and I take responsibility for that.”
The Lakers guard was certainly hard on himself after, as he knows mistakes like that are the difference between wins and losses against elite teams like the Thunder.
“Yeah, it definitely hurts. That was the game. That’s the best team in the West record-wise and we were right with them. I think we definitely had a good opportunity to win the game and I’m not gonna say that my mistake cost us the entire game, but it was definitely probably the biggest one of the game. So it is what it is, I gotta learn from it.”
L.A. has very little margin for error when it comes to playing against the top teams in either conference. They have to be close to perfect, especially in their late-game execution, or the best teams will take advantage. The Thunder were able to do that on Friday, and it created a great learning opportunity for the young Christie.
Now, in future games, Christie is sure to be more aware of every facet of the game before committing a foul or making a decision of that nature.
D’Angelo Russell praises coachability of Max Christie
An important piece of the Lakers’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week was the performance of their reserves, particularly D’Angelo Russell and Christie. Russell finished with 17 points and five assists while Christie added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in the win.
Russell has had his moments this season, especially since moving to a bench role, but for Christie his recent play has been extra encouraging after such a rough start to the year that saw him go from a big role to out of the rotation completely.
But the coaches and teammates have not lost faith in Christie and Russell recently spoke about one of the wing’s best traits. Following the win over the Spurs, Russell discussed how coachable Christie is and how is always looking to learn.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
