OKLAHOMA CITY — Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team knew what time it was ahead of Thursday’s marquee matchup against the Thunder.
But they didn’t play like it.
Not even close.
The Lakers’ 139-96 blowout loss to the Thunder was troubling in a variety of ways.
They struggled with the signature defensive pressure and tenacity of the defending champions, leading to a turnover-filled first quarter.
Their energy and urgency dipped once it was clear their shotmaking wasn’t going to be there for them – the first time in a while that’s been the case.
They were defeated well before the final buzzer sounded.
“They beat the s— out of us,” Austin Reaves said. “They’re the defending champs. We’ve got to be better. Losing always sucks. It don’t matter if you lose by 1 or 50. A loss is a loss. That’s kind of how I look at it.”
But before the night ended, the final result didn’t feel relevant, with star guard Luka Doncic leaving the game during the third quarter because of a left hamstring injury.
Doncic will get imaging down on Friday to determine the severity of his injury. He, along with all of the Lakers, were having a rough night before he left the game.
Doncic had 12 points (3-of-10 shooting, 1 of 7 on 3s), 7 assists and 4 rebounds in 26 minutes before his exit.
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 15 points and 4 assists, but was grabbing at his left side throughout the night.
LeBron James finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
What it means
The Lakers fell to 50-27 for just their third loss in their last 19 games, dropping the regular-season series to the Thunder.
But most importantly, they left Paycom Center without knowing the status of their best player moving forward.
Turning point
When Reaves turned the ball over on the Lakers’ third possession.
It was the first of back-to-back possessions that ended with a turnover for the Lakers, with the Thunder taking advantage and scoring off both giveaways, leading to Redick calling an early timeout.
“I did a poor job starting the game,” Reaves said. “A couple turnovers back-to-back. I had four in that first quarter. I just gotta do better. Give ourselves a better opportunity to get to a better start.”
The Thunder had full control of the game from there.
MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The league’s reigning MVP didn’t have the most efficient scoring night by his standards, shooting 12 of 25 from the field (1 of 4 on 3-pointers), finishing with 28 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds in 30 minutes.
But he controlled the game early with his passing when his shots weren’t falling.
And when Gilgeous-Alexander did get it going, the Lakers didn’t have an answer.
Gilgeous-Alexander likely cemented himself with another league MVP honors with Thursday’s performance.
Stat of the game: 8
That’s how many turnovers the Lakers had in the first 7 ½ minutes of the game, directly leading to 14 points for the Thunder, who had a 25-9 lead midway through the first.
The Lakers finished with 18 giveaways against the Thunder’s stingy defense.
But the lack of ball security early took them out of the game before they were even able to get in it.
“We frankly had unforced turnovers,” Redick said. “They had a lot more shots on goal to start the game. The eight turnovers in the first quarter really hurt us.”
Up next
The Lakers will play the Mavericks in Dallas on Sunday to end the two-game trip.
