Lakers End Road Trip with Big Win over OKC

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Josh Hart racked up another double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers finally get a win over the Thunder, beating them 108-104 and closing their five game road trip with a 3-2 record. Brook Lopez was the leading scorer with 20 points and he added 5 rebounds and 5 assists to his stat line. Julius Randle racked up 19 points with 6 rebounds, Brandon Ingram added 16 points to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and KCP broke out of a funk with 13 points to go with 5 rebounds. Jordan Clarkson once again lead the bench in scoring with 18 points to go with 2 steals.

Final Score: @ Oklahoma City 108-104 [W]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180204/LALOKC#/recap

Next Game: vs. Phoenix (02/06)

Highlights: *Courtesy of MLG Highlights*

Compared to the last two games against this Thunder team, the Lakers played super competitive in this 3rd meeting from start to finish. Set this win next to the late January one point win against the Celtics as one of those hallmark victories for this season. This team is showing that the future is bright in Laker land. First off the negative here was the finish. The Lakers have a 10 point lead with about 1:08 in the 4th quarter. Ingram's block on Melo and his pass to Randle for the breakaway dunk should've been deal sealer there.But a couple of turnovers almost gave the Thunder an improbable victory. Not to take away from Clarkson's solid game and big 3-pointers in the 2nd half, but those three turnovers down the stretch of the 4th quarter were bad. All season long, the Lakers had a knack on road game of making us think that they're going to win comfortably, then they just have to make things interesting whether it's missed free throws or critical turnovers. They must continue to improve playing with a big lead, especially on the road. But nonetheless, great way to close out the road trip. The mentality of being aggressive to the basket was there. They were active in running the floor. Ingram and Randle did their thing in the paint. It was a super mismatch between Randle and Melo in the Power Forward position and Randle just muscled his way to the basket. Josh Hart one of these games is gonna trigger Magic and Pelinka to unload Clarkson or KCP before the deadline. Second straight game with a double-double since being inserted into the starting lineup. He just shoots the 3-pointers with confidence, goes aggressive to the basket, crashes the boards, and plays good defense. Hart has a lot of potential to be another two-way player for the Lakers outside of Ingram. He just needs to improve the free throw shooting. Lopez and KCP stepped up as veterans. Lopez in particular was active and got his 3-point shot to work. He is stepping up as this young Lakers' security blanket. This loss is also a big blow to the Thunder. There's a lot of issues going on with the team during their 4-game skid. I guess anything to diminish Paul George's chances of re-signing with the Thunder is good news for the Lakers and this win might've made his impending free agency decision a lot more challenging.

Lakers Close Out 3-Game Road Trip With Another Blow Out Loss to Thunder

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.

(+)

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.

01/17: LAKERS @ OKC Thunder 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This is the 2nd half open thread and discussion of the Lakers-Thunder matchup where the Lakers are wrapping up their 3-game road trip. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

LAL 90 OKC 114

Nothing to react about this quarter other than a few good sample sizes from players playing in garbage time. That includes Alex Caruso and Gary Payton II. Like the last meeting, the Lakers just do not have the talent to match OKC's "OK3." It especially doesn't help when they can't box out and grab a defensive rebound, which they struggled to do tonight. More to come in the full recap.

Q3

LAL 72 OKC 93

This is shaping to be like the last meeting earlier this month where the Thunder pulled away early in the game. I'm going to play catchup here as I missed the first half. Julius Randle leads all Lakers in scoring with 16. I'm assuming the Lakers went to him early on inside. KCP and Josh Hart accounted for a majority of the Lakers' threes. Brandon Ingram's back in the lineup to install some ball movement on this team without Zo. The biggest thing that's hurting right now for the Lakers is 2nd chance opportunities. I remember the graphic the Thunder have 22 second chance while the Lakers have 2. It's four now after Larry Nance's putback from Kuzma's miss. Steven Adams dealt most of that damage with 6 offensive boards. Lakers are having a hard time boxing him out. Paul George got out of the funk this quarter and Melo took over down the stretch. It's a lot of work cut out for the Lakers to make a push in the 4th quarter.

01/17: LAKERS @ Oklahoma City Thunder 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the first half open thread of the Lakers-Thunder matchup where the Lakers are gonna wrap up a 3-game road trip. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q1

LAL 0 OKC 0

*Hey guys, I'll be a little late coming home from work. And most likely, I'll be missing all of the 1st half. I will keep this thread open and I'll see you guys hopefully in the 2nd half.*