LeBron James Leads Short-Handed Lakers Past Thunder in Comeback Win
The Los Angeles Lakers clearly enjoy playing the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After defeating OKC in overtime on Monday, Los Angeles won Wednesday's rematch at Staples Center 114-113 in overtime. LeBron James led the way for the Purple and Gold, who improved to 20-6 on the season with their sixth consecutive victory and third win in as many tries against the Thunder even though Anthony Davis was sidelined.
The visitors were without point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and fell to 10-14 overall and just 2-5 in the last seven games despite a solid showing from Al Horford and Kenrich Williams.
OKC had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but James deflected the inbound pass and forced a half-court heave from Williams that did not fall.
Notable Player Stats
- LeBron James, F, LAL: 25 PTS, 7 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL
- Montrezl Harrell, C, LAL: 20 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK
- Dennis Schroder, G, LAL: 19 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST
- Al Horford, C, OKC: 25 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 4 STL, 1 BLK
- Kenrich Williams, G, OKC: 24 PTS, 6 REB, 3 STL
- Hamidou Diallo, G, OKC: 15 PTS, 13 REB, 5 AST
LeBron Leads the Way in Yet Another OT
Three straight overtime wins.
That is what the Lakers completed with Wednesday's victory, although it's at least somewhat fair to worry about the number of minutes the 36-year-old James is playing. The King has now played 35 or more minutes in 11 of his last 12 contests and was once again under the spotlight with Davis out for a second straight contest.
It is a testament to his individual brilliance that James is in the middle of the MVP discussion, but the Lakers are also in championship-or-bust mode. Preserving his legs for the playoffs remains a priority, and it appeared as if he may have an opportunity for rest when his team fell behind by 20 points in the first half.
However, he picked his spots as Los Angeles gradually chipped away at the lead.
Dennis Schroder also provided important backcourt scoring, Montrezl Harrell provided a spark off the bench against an outmatched OKC frontcourt and the Lakers stayed close enough to put James in position to win it at the end.
As he so often does, No. 23 worked his magic in winning time with a game-tying three-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining to force the extra period. In overtime, he found Wesley Matthews for a monster go-ahead triple with 41.4 seconds remaining and then made the defensive play to ice it.
The heavy minutes may be a concern after he played 41 in the latest win, but James continues to dominate even at this stage of his career.
Thunder Miss Another Golden Opportunity to Defeat Lakers
The Thunder were fighting an uphill battle before the game even started after Gilgeous-Alexander was ruled out.
After all, he was dominant against the Lakers on Monday with 29 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four made three-pointers. He also was the team's offense in crunch time and drained three clutch free throws in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.
Not only did he not have an opportunity to build on his strong showing, but he is also the only player on the Thunder averaging better than 13.7 points per game. Throw in the absences of Theo Maledon and George Hill, and there wasn't much ball-handling for an offense that figured to struggle against the defending champions.
Williams, who started for Gilgeous-Alexander, missed the memo.
He poured in 17 points in the first half alone on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, while Hamidou Diallo and Horford showed off their versatility while providing secondary scoring. Horford facilitated from the elbow and blocks when his teammates had space, and Diallo battled for boards from the backcourt.
Horford showed his veteran leadership by taking over in moments in crunch time, and Luguentz Dort's ability to power his way to the rim proved troublesome for the Lakers near the end of the game. Still, Dort missed a wide-open three to win it at the buzzer of regulation, and the Thunder literally threw away their chance to win it in the final seconds of overtime.
It was yet another difficult loss against the reigning champions in a league that doesn't reward moral victories in the standings.
What's Next?
Both teams are in action Friday when the Lakers host the Memphis Grizzlies and the Thunder travel to face the Denver Nuggets.
