LeBron James Dominates with 33 as Lakers Bounce Back with Win over Thunder
The Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 116-95 road win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday at Paycom Center.
Lakers forward LeBron James led all scorers with 33 points, and he added six assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Avery Bradley also did work on both ends with 22 points and four steals.
L.A. led by as many as 29 points despite missing big man Anthony Davis, who sat with left knee soreness. Talen Horton-Tucker replaced him in the starting lineup.
The third time was not the charm for the Thunder, who beat the Lakers twice earlier this season after overcoming double-digit deficits both times. Tre Mann scored 19 off the bench to lead an OKC team that struggled with shooting all night.
The 14-13 Lakers bounced back after losing 108-95 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. The 8-17 Thunder's two-game win streak was snapped in defeat.
Notable Performances
Lakers F LeBron James: 33 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Lakers G Avery Bradley: 22 points, 4 steals
Lakers PG Russell Westbrook: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists
Thunder G Tre Mann: 19 points
Thunder G Josh Giddey: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists
Thunder G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 11 points
LeBron Dominates En Route to Comfortable Win
Friday marked an excellent performance for James, who helped the Lakers to a much-needed win after an ugly loss to Memphis.
James got his teammates involved early, dishing this quick pass to Bradley for a three-pointer in the first quarter:
Later in the half, James elevated over Tre Mann for a dunk:
By the time the first half ended, James had 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting and three steals, giving L.A. a 64-45 halftime lead.
James kept finishing strong in the paint, earning this and-one opportunity after a contested layup:
He added this dunk in the fourth quarter to punctuate his night:
James also did work on the fast break, corralling a loose ball, finding Westbrook in transition and finishing the sequence himself:
James ultimately created his own personal highlight reel on this night, as the Lakers got back in the win column.
Thunder Ice Cold From Field, Three-Point Range
This game is pretty simple to explain from the Thunder's perspective.
On defense, the Thunder had no answer for LeBron.
On offense, OKC missed too many shots.
The 2021-22 Thunder join a long list of teams subjected to an excellent performance from James, but their season-long shooting cold spell kept rearing its ugly head on Friday.
OKC shot just 38-of-96 from the field (39.2 percent) and 10-of-44 from three-point range (22.7 percent).
Luguentz Dort made just 4-of-17 field goals (2-of-11 from three). Josh Giddey missed all five of his three-pointers. Kenrich Williams missed all five of his shots. Only two players (Mann and Derrick Favors) made more than half of their field goals. No one made more than 40 percent of their three-point attempts.
The Thunder entered this game second-last in the NBA with a 41.2 field goal percentage and last with a 30.9 percent three-point rate. Their 99.3 points per game entering Friday was the lowest mark in the league. Their offensive efficiency rating is also last, per Basketball-Reference.
OKC plays at a neutral pace (15th), so it isn't as if the team is walking the ball up the court and playing conservative offensive basketball. The Thunder are ultimately having a bad shooting season.
Entering Friday, no OKC starter was shooting better than 33.9 percent from three-point range or 43.4 percent from the field (Dort has the high mark for both).
It's a troubling scenario, but the silver lining of sorts is that the Thunder aren't looking to compete this year. They are a young, rebuilding team with a treasure trove of draft picks this decade, and the hope for the Thunder is that they turn those picks into elite talents that can guide this team back to its previous glory days under Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
But for now, the growing pains are real for this team as its shooting woes continue.
What's Next?
Both teams will play at home Sunday.
Oklahoma City will host the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. ET. L.A. will play the Orlando Magic at 9:30 p.m.
