After the Los Angeles Lakers blew the Oklahoma City Thunder out on Sunday afternoon, the two teams were back in action at Paycom Center again on Tuesday evening.
Despite the Lakers originally listing all of their key players as questionable, they ended up suiting up, which made this another intriguing matchup. Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t very intriguing as Luka Doncic was questionably ejected and then the Thunder went on a run to pull away for a 136-120 win.
The Lakers picked up where they left off on Sunday as Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith, who was starting for L.A. with Rui Hachimura out, began the game with two 3-pointers each. The Thunder were shooting much better in this one as well though to take an early double-digit lead.
Again, it was Reaves and Finney-Smith that had a response for the Lakers to keep it from getting away early. Doncic then started to heat up and despite the Thunder staying hot, the teams were tied at 43 at the end of a high-paced first quarter.
The shotmaking didn’t slow down to start the second quarter as Reaves and Jalen Williams both stayed hot. The Lakers started turning the ball over, however, and the Thunder took advantage with a quick 10-0 run led by Alex Caruso’s defense. After a timeout by the Lakers, Doncic hit some free throws and a triple to get them back on track.
While the Lakers were defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander well, it didn’t matter as he was making a number of difficult jump shots. LeBron James finally joined in on the fun to end the half, but the Lakers still went into the locker room facing an 80-72 deficit.
James was dialed in to start the third quarter with eight quick points to cut into the deficit. Doncic then connected on a long triple to regain the lead for L.A.
Jarred Vanderbilt was doing everything for the Lakers on both sides of the ball. With the ridiculous shotmaking slowing down for the Thunder, the Lakers turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a 98-97 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City got back going offensively with back-to-back triples to start the final quarter. Unfortunately with the game tied, Doncic picked up his second technical foul and was ejected from the game after saying something to a fan, not even the referee.
That took all of the momentum away from the Lakers as the Thunder immediately went on a 24-4 run. Gilgeous-Alexander had no issues closing it out from there for Oklahoma City.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers won’t have much time for rest as they now travel to take on the Dallas Mavericks in the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday. That will be an emotional night and a game the Lakers surely want to win as Luka Doncic returns to Dallas for the first time since the trade.
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