The reigning NBA Champions used size and physicality to their advantage in their win against the Thunder.
Forward Anthony Davis spearheaded the effort by putting up a quick eight points in the opening four minutes. Muscling his way inside and knocking down a pair of shots in the midrange, Davis opened up with a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
On the other end of the floor, the physicality of the Lakers initially took the Thunder out of its rhythm offensively which opened the door for Los Angeles to get out to an early 24-point lead.
The Thunder, who prides itself on its ability to calibrate and adjust in-game, began to find ways to manufacture points midway through the first. With spurts early on matching the physicality of the Lakers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander surgically drove the lane and got buckets at the basket to put up eight first quarter points. Hamidou Diallo checked into the game and dropped four points in four minutes to close out the quarter.
“There were a lot of possessions where I thought we were able to generate some pace and get away from them and get them behind the ball,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “You’ve got to be able to sustain that against a team that’s big and physical like that.”
The Thunder settled down in the second quarter offensively and generated consecutive buckets coupled with stops on the defensive end. Isaiah Roby, who started in the place of Al Horford, kick started the effort scoring on a finger roll in the lane on one side of the floor, then grabbed a defensive rebound on the ensuing possession and kicked it ahead to Lu Dort for his second 3-pointer of the night. This was the start of a Thunder 14-2 run which would cut the Lakers 24-point lead in half going into the locker room at intermission.
“I thought that that group that closed out half did a really good job getting us back in the game and got us within striking distance,” Daigneault said. “That’s a good example of those guys just continuing to play.”
After OKC cut the lead to 12 points going into the half, the Lakers erupted out of the half with a 16-2 run of its own to once again tip the scales heavily back in its favor. Behind the efforts of Lebron James who poured in 11 points in the third stanza, the Lakers outscored the Thunder 35-25. The effort was matched in the fourth quarter as Montrezl Harrell and Markieff Morris combined for 17 points in the fourth en route to another 35-point quarter by the Lakers to seal the game.
“They were just the better team tonight. We didn’t have our greatest night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ll watch film, try to get better from it and get ready for the next game.”
Despite the loss, every moment on the floor serves as a valuable touchpoint for this young Thunder team. Going up against the league’s reigning champions only added to its catalogue of experiences to extract lessons from as it continues to grow and develop throughout the season. Players like 19-year-old rookies Théo Maledon and Aleksej Pokuševski took advantage of the valuable opportunity and both chipped in five points in the final 12 minutes. Pokuševski finished the night by
recording first double-digit game of his young career with 10 points while also adding three well-timed blocks to his stat line. The Thunder coaching staff has applauded the 7-foot-2 forward’s approach to his development so far this season by taking lessons from each game and working to build a solid foundation with each experience.
“These are all touch points for him. Every minute out there, he’s learning and figuring things out,” Daigneault said. “There’s a lot coming at these players really fast when they’re rookies, and you can tell he’s starting to get a little bit more comfortable, especially in the offensive end.”