Paul George Burns Lakers for 37 Points in Thunder Win as Lonzo Ball Struggles

The Oklahoma City Thunder took advantage of a Los Angeles Lakers team playing without LeBron James and won the first showdown of the season between the Western Conference contenders 107-100 at Staples Center on Wednesday.

Los Angeles fell to 1-3 since James suffered a groin injury during a Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors and also lost Kyle Kuzma to a back contusion, per Mike Trudell Spectrum SportsNet.

Paul George led the way for the victors with 37 points, four rebounds and four steals, helping make up for Russell Westbrook's 3-of-20 mark from the field. Despite the poor shooting, Westbrook still notched a triple-double with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (25 points) and Brandon Ingram (17 points and 11 boards) led the way for Los Angeles in defeat, while Lonzo Ball had just three points on 1-of-4 shooting.

Paul George Shows Lakers What They Desperately Need

Paul George Takes Flight

Westbrook struggled from the field throughout the game, but George was right there to pick up the slack for the Thunder.

He consistently attacked the lane and made the Lakers pay for shifting their attention toward the point guard, exploiting openings and finishing at the rim. He even had Westbrook mocking Lance Stephenson's patented air guitar celebration when he torched his former Indiana Pacers teammate.

There was a time when it seemed like a virtual certainty George would eventually be doing that in a Lakers uniform, going as far as telling Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated: "Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform."

He ultimately spurned the Lakers to remain with the Thunder despite the hometown connections and the fact that Oklahoma City lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz during his first season with the team. The fans in the Staples Center heartily booed him as a result, although that didn't stop him from putting his stamp on the game.

It was clear just how valuable he would have been in the Purple and Gold while he was beating the Lakers in front of the booing fans, despite their erroneous claims otherwise.

While Kuzma, Ingram and Ball provide optimism for the future, James is trying to lead the Lakers over arguably the best team in NBA history in the Golden State Warriors. The defending champions have four All-Star-caliber players in the starting lineup alone in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and that's not even accounting for DeMarcus Cousins' eventual return from an Achilles injury.

James needed a legendary performance from a second star in Kyrie Irving in the 2016 NBA Finals to get over the Warriors hump as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that was before Durant joined the fold.

George is the type of secondary star who can take over a game as a scorer and defend the opponent's best playmaker as a three-time All-Defensive selection. He could guard the likes of Durant while taking the pressure off James' shoulders and give the Lakers a fighting chance in the firepower department in a hypothetical playoff series.

Wednesday was a cruel reminder for Los Angeles about just how much it missed this past offseason.

Lakers Need Caldwell-Pope to Maintain Pace Upon LeBron's Return

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with the Flush

Caldwell-Pope was the best player on the floor for the Lakers in the early going of Wednesday's game, pouring in 18 first-half points alone and picking up where he left off in Sunday's win over the Sacramento Kings.

The wingman tallied 26 points in Los Angeles' last outing, helping lead the Lakers to their only win since James' injury. He recognized the need for another scorer to fill the void—especially with less-experienced players serving as the primary option in many of the James-less lineups—and delivered.

He will need to continue doing so even when James comes back if the Purple and Gold are going to establish the type of depth they need to play deep into the playoffs.

Entering play Wednesday, Los Angeles' bench was just 21st in the league in offensive rating, per NBA.com. That isn't the mark of a true competitor in the daunting Western Conference, especially for a team that needs a reliable second unit to provide spells for a 34-year-old James attempting to preserve his legs for the postseason after eight straight trips to the NBA Finals.

The past two games have not been an aberration for Caldwell-Pope, seeing how he's been a consistent wing scorer for much of his career. He posted as many as 14.5 points a night in 2015-16 for the Detroit Pistons and has averaged at least 13.0 per game in each of the last three seasons.

However, he has taken a backseat for the Lakers with James dominating the ball and Kuzma and Ingram serving as high-usage secondary options and was averaging just 9.5 points per game coming into Wednesday's action. That total would mark the first time he didn't average double-digit scoring since he was a rookie in 2013-14.

Caldwell-Pope is only 25 years old but is still a veteran compared to Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and Josh Hart when it comes to the primary role players around the King. He has playoff experience, can knock down shots from the outside when defenders collapse on James and can be a stabilizing force off the bench as a source of instant offense.

He has proved he is still a capable scorer in a larger role with James sidelined and can't settle into a passive approach when the four-time MVP returns. A Lakers bench lacking explosive offense thus far this season needs the production.

What's Next?

Both teams are in action Friday, with the Lakers hosting the New York Knicks and the Thunder at the Portland Trail Blazers.