LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers swept their four-game homestand as they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 112-107.
The Lakers defense was active to start as they forced four quick turnovers and ran out in transition to grab the early lead. After the timeout, however, Danilo Gallinari began to get going on the offensive end as he scored a couple of buckets to narrow the lead.
Los Angeles continued to take advantage of some poor passes from Oklahoma City as they were able to get loose for a couple of dunks, but the Thunder’s bench battled back to keep the game close. Anthony Davis carried the Lakers down the stretch and they went into the second quarter up five points.
The two teams began the quarter much like how they ended the previous one as they traded baskets with Dennis Schroder leading the way for Oklahoma City. Kyle Kuzma, who had been shooting well as of late, had to leave the game after being hit in the eye by Darius Bazley.
The Lakers offense began to pick back up thanks to some great assists from Rajon Rondo and a defensive surge led by Dwight Howard. Oklahoma City continued to claw back, going on an 8-0 run, but Davis and LeBron James closed the quarter strong and Los Angeles went into the half up 10.
The Thunder opened the third sharp on offense as Gallinari keyed a 10-0 run, forcing an early timeout from head coach Frank Vogel. The break seemed to do the Lakers good as they seemed refocused on the defensive end, particularly the big men as they did a good job of patrolling the paint and adding to the team’s block total.
The purple and gold looked like they were going to pull away thanks to some good ball movement, but Schroder’s hot shooting allowed Oklahoma City to hang around in the game. Still, the Lakers would head into the final quarter up six.
James was able to extend the lead as he scored the first seven points for Los Angeles, including a long three with the shot clock winding down. A couple stoppages in play midway through the fourth halted any gameflow, but the Lakers still managed to answer every time the Thunder looked like they would go on a run.
A couple of assists from James to Davis helped him record his fifth triple-double of the 2019-20 NBA season while his second three-pointer of the game pushed the lead to 11 late in the quarter. A late 9-0 run from the Thunder narrowed the deficit to two, but a clutch Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three helped seal the team’s fifth straight win.