Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder came into Staples Center and took care of business against an injury-riddled Lakers team 107-100. Kyle Kuzma left in the second quarter with back contusions and Tyson Chandler experienced a back injury himself but returned to the court for a few fourth-quarter minutes. Coupled with LeBron and Rondo current injuries, the Lakers are officially dealing with a team-wide injury bug.
Still, they stayed surprisingly close to the Thunder. The scoreboard was within five points the whole time up to the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. This injured Laker team was still competing with a full-strength Thunder squad (sans Andre Roberson) despite not having their top scorers and vocal team leaders. They really shot themselves out of it with poor iso-heavy shot selection by Brandon Ingram and overall anemic team-wide offense. We can point to injuries as a reason they lost, but we also have to acknowledge that the Lakers need a deeper, more effective offensive gameplan down the stretch - especially if they'll be missing LeBron for a few more games.
Paul George was an absolute force for the Thunder in his first game at Staples after spurning the Lakers in free agency (37 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assists, 4 steals, 15/29). Russell Westbrook had a horrendous game from the field while accruing his obligatory boards and dimes for the triple-double (14 pts, 16 rebs, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers 3-20 FG). You can knock Westbrook all day for his inefficient shooting, but you have to respect how he helped the team out in almost every other way possible. Have a look at the rhythm of the game and takeaways below.
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Rhythm Of The Game
First Quarter
The Thunder were doing a great job of forcing turnovers and making their trips to the line count. LA's three-point shot just wasn't falling yet, but they did find some success in the paint during semi-transition opportunities. Paul George stunningly managed to pick up three fouls in the first quarter alone which hindered he and his team's effectiveness in the early going.
They managed to keep pace with the Thunder all through the quarter until OKC drained their first triple of the game as time was just about to expire. Thankfully for the Lakers, Dennis Schroeder made a horrifically dumb foul on KCP with .7 left in the quarter! Pope nailed both to bring the game to a tie, 25-25 heading into the second.
Second Quarter
The Thunder started to create some space off the Lakers thanks to some nice shooting by little-known bench man Abdel Nader. The second-year guard was the beneficiary of some clever Thunder off-ball action that freed him up for easy looks. But right as the Thunder tried pulling away, LA went on a 12-4 spurred by Lonzo Ball playmaking and KCP sharpshooting. Playmaking from their young guns and shooting from the veterans - just what the Lakers needed to steal one from the Thunder tonight. LA was in control 37-32.
A few plays later, Russell Westbrook got rejected by McGee trying to dunk at the rim and got HEATED by the absence of a foul call. He sauntered over to the scorer's table in a rage and smacked the powder container which resulted in an early technical for the fiery superstar. He was able to channel that energy into baskets and playmaking to recapture the lead 45-44 with a little over four minutes to play.
The game was incredibly back-and-forth in the final two minutes of the first half. Paul George started finding his rhythm for some threes which made you think the Thunder were going to pull away at the half. The young Lakers responded with force though and went on an 8-0 run in the span of a minute thanks to awe-inspiring transition plays from Lance, Lonzo, and Ingram.
It started looking like the Lakers could go into the half with a lead! But Paul George provided a loud answer to his haters and the Lakers when he nailed an authoritative and-1 over Lance Stephenson to recapture the lead heading into the half 59-57. George then proceeded to talk a whole mess of shit at the jeering Laker crowd. Lance took the ball in his hands at the other end in an attempt to show up George who was guarding him - but he bricked a tightly contested three and was subsequently mocked by George heading into the halftime locker room. That Lance shot over George would've sent the building nuclear, but alas we didn't get it. This game had some real rage behind it! It had me on the edge of my seat just waiting for this second half to come around.
Third Quarter
When we came back to the third it was announced that Kyle Kuzma was questionable to return with a lower back contusion. Kuz left during the second quarter in a rather quiet matter. It was REALLY up to Bradon Ingram and Lonzo Ball to step up now against the Thunder and their two stars. They were going to have to do it without LeBron and their other craftiest offensive player.
The managed to stay neck-and-neck or jump ahead by a little periodically during the first six minutes of play. The Thunder tried feeding Paul George early on in the third to get him fired up in anticipation for the heated fourth. He was absolutely feeling it as he tacked on 28 with one more quarter left to play. The Lakers went on a short run to retain control of the scoreboard, 78-82, but OKC's ability to outrebound the Lakers in crucial moments kept them on edge as we geared up for the final period.
Fourth Quarter
The Lakeshow pushed the lead to five but OKC quickly countered to retake the lead in large part to more excellence from the young guard Abdel Nader. The Lakers starters needed to come back in ASAP or else the Thunder would bury the bench unit alive.
It was only a five-point game, 90-85 Thunder lead with eight minutes to play. It was then announced that Tyson Chandler wouldn't come back because of back issues of his own. That five-point lead felt larger than it was after Lonzo and Ingram chucked up demotivating bricks. It felt like a fifteen-point Thunder lead, not a fiver. The Laker offense was desperate and stagnant, but an aggressive Josh Hart got a much-needed score in transition to bring it within three with five minutes to go, 91-88.
The Thunder missing their field goals for four straight minutes undoubtedly helped the Lakers cause, but an aggressive Paul George quickly stretched that one-two point advantage up to six., 95-89. The Lakers offense was just anemic to close this thing out. Brandon Ingram was throwing up heavily contested iso looks with way too much dribbling and Lance Stephenson was out here in crunch time over Lonzo Ball. I think you need to roll with Lonzo in this situation unless Lance is just having an amazing game - which he wasn't. While the Lakers scrambled, the Thunder stepped on their throats with a Westbrook to George alley-oop to go up 11 with two minutes to play. When the final buzzer rang the Thunder claimed victory 107-100.
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Takeaways
The Lakers stayed competitive for a good 44-46 minutes of this game before just faltering down the stretch against an overall struggling Thunder team. Russell Westbrook was having a god-awful offensive game. If it was any time to beat the Thunder without LeBron, this would've been it! I know injuries are killing the Lakers right now, but it was disheartening seeing Ingram(1/7 from the field in the fourth) and the guys fall into bad offensive habits when they need to be focused and playing smartly. Free throw shooting was an issue once again as the Lakers only made 19/32. The Thunder shot horribly from the line themselves
In terms of matchups, I wish we got to see more Brandon Ingram vs. Paul George. Lance Stephenson kept matching up to George on defense. It's like they were locked in after their heated first half exchanges. I was totally here for the theatrics of it, but Lance's play fell off. I just kept thinking Ingram's length would be a much better way to make life more difficult for an in-his-bag Paul George.
If this depleted version of the Lakers put up this much of a fight against the Thunder, how would they have fared with their full squad? I'm not totally sure, but it makes me optimistic for a potential playoff matchup versus the Thunder. Westbrook will surely be in a better place offensively by then, but we have the length and firepower to tango with one of the West's top teams. Still, the Lakers could've stolen this one given Westbrook's dumpster fire of a shot chart (3/20), and the Thunder's shooting woes from the free throw line (20/31) and beyond the arc (7/31). Time to learn from this and move onto the next. A date with the depressing New York Knicks will be a great chance to wash the bad taste out of their mouth.
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