Alright, welcome in to the long-awaited full recap post of the Lakers' road matchup vs the Oklahoma City Thunder where the Lakers were outmatched again by the Thunder, losing 90-114.
Full recap post took longer than expected because I was catching up on a couple of highlights from the first half. This was a game during that half. Then the 2nd half happened and the Thunder pulled away like last time. And no, Westbrook was not catalyst of it. Melo went off for 27 points. Steven Adams was a monster in the points and boards category. I said in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers were gonna have their work cut out being down 21. The Lakers tried to rally when they cut it to 82-99 during the 4th, but PG13 hit a game-sealing three and the rest of the quarter was just garbage time for players who play sparingly to show out.
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Julius Randle, 16 points, 8-11 shooting. I saw the first half highlights of this game and that is where Julius did most of his damage. He was quite a cutter tonight, easily sneaking past defenders for easy dunks. When I was making my reaction for the 3rd quarter, Randle lead all Lakers in scoring and I assumed that he was doing work inside the paint. And I stood corrected. That was only first half where he showed out his inside game. The 2nd half though, he was non-existent. He only had one rebound tonight. Steven Adams completely annihilated him with the offensive boards.
Josh Hart, 9 points, 3-6 shooting. The numbers are not sexy, but Hart hit his threes at very timely moments during this game. In fact, all three of his field goals were from deep. The Lakers kept themselves within striking distance against the Thunder and Hart's timely three-pointers were a big part of it.
(-)
Rebounding/2nd chance points. This was the negative that ultimately killed the Lakers this game. Steven Adams was a one-man wrecking crew in crashing the boards for OKC tonight. He lead the entire team with 7 offensive boards! Brook Lopez and Randle had tough sledding trying to box out Adams. Because of that, the Lakers got killed in 2nd chance points. ESPN showed the graphic in the 3rd quarter, they got destroyed in that category 22-2. I'm sure the final tally in 2nd chance points is like 26-4 or close to that.
MVP
Julius Randle, 16 points, 8-11 shooting
This was a very underwhelming MVP selection for this game. Randle looked good in the first half of the game, then he disappeared in the 2nd half. Not to mention, he was bullied inside by Steven Adams. But, because he's the Lakers' top scorer and was efficient in shooting this game, Randle gets my MVP vote here.
Conclusion
There's no sugar coating it, the Lakers need Lonzo Ball back after these two ugly games in Memphis and Oklahoma City. He's the one that jump starts this team's ball movement and up-tempo game. Not sure if he would make a difference in this game though. The Thunder, they're not a deep team. But, the star power of Westbrook, Melo, and PG13 alone is too much talent to handle for the Lakers' current talent. It especially doesn't help when Steven Adams scores in double figures too. Last meeting, Terrance Ferguson was that 4th player for the Thunder to go off for 20+ points. Tonight, it was Adams with 21 points and 10 grown man rebounds. After this game, the Lakers have a three game home stand. They open up with the surprising Pacers and probably the "Most Improved Player" candidate in Victor Oladipo on Friday. Then, it's the Knicks on Sunday and they close it out against the Celtics on Tuesday. At least two of those three games should be winnable. Then again, it's completely contingent on Zo's health. They play better as a team when he's on the floor. I'll see you guys next Tuesday for the game against the Celtics.
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