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The logic in some corners of the Lakers locker room last season was that the best path to the NBA Finals would not be through Denver, but rather through Oklahoma City – the team tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the West.
Denver was too big, too physical and had dominated the Lakers. And the Thunder hadn’t.
The Lakers had won three straight against the Thunder, scorning their youth, speed and athleticism with wisdom and strength. This gave the Lakers an advantage and the belief that if they met Oklahoma City in the playoffs, they would be the tougher team.
A lot can change in one season.
“They made a jump, but they’re also missing a big piece,” LeBron James said, citing injured big man Chet Holmgren and guard Alex Caruso. “So they will take another leap. But a very good team. Well coached.”
In the final game of their NBA Cup pool on Friday, the Lakers hosted the Thunder and felt Oklahoma City’s new strength in a crushing 99-93 loss that left Los Angeles beaten and almost certainly out of the next stage of the tournament.
The cup match and final tiebreaker scenarios will be completed next week, but with two losses and a negative point differential, the Lakers’ chances of advancing are slim.
The Lakers discovered Friday that when you absorb so much physicality, there’s also a mental cost to pay.
Max Christie fouled Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive to the basket in the final 24 seconds, catching him as if the Lakers had a foul to commit. They didn’t, and Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws to give Oklahoma City the lead.
“I knew the time and the score of the match, but I didn’t realize they were in the bonus,” said the 21-year-old guard. “And I should have known because they were in the bonus for the last three or four minutes. So yes, it was a mental error on my part, and I take responsibility for it.”
After a timeout, the Lakers were unable to get the ball in, with Austin Reaves’ pass intercepted by Jaylen Williams, leading to a dunk.
It was the Lakers’ 17th turnover, a total that led to 20 points for the Thunder — mental errors resulting from fatigue and stifling defense. Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 36 points and nine assists.
“There were a half-dozen to a dozen plays that shot us in the foot before the game was even over,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We played well enough and strong enough to win against the best team in the West. So there are definitely some good things.
Most of that came on the defensive end, where the Lakers followed a solid 48 minutes in San Antonio with one of their best defensive games of the year.
“It was as connected as our group has been on that side of the floor since the first game of the season,” Redick said. “Just, you know, really outstanding work with a lot of the things we talked about.”
The game, however, came at a cost.
Reaves, who has yet to miss a game and played in every game a season ago, left the game in the first half after a foul while driving to the basket caused leads to a frightening fall.
As Reaves jumped from the baseline and attempted to lay the ball down, he found himself sandwiched between Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein and Gilgeous-Alexander, landing flat on his back. Reaves writhed in pain for most of a timeout before staying in the game to make a pair of free throws. A few minutes later, he pointed to the bench and headed straight to the locker room.
He returned midway through the third quarter but was limited.
James jumped to prevent a bad pass from turning into a turnover, tipping it to Dalton Knecht for a three, only to be flattened on a collision and slow to get back up.
“It doesn’t matter to me, obviously. I like when the game is played that way,” James said. “I wish there were more regular season games allowed to be played this way.”
Knecht led the Lakers with 20 points and D’Angelo Russell 17, but Lakers stars James and Anthony Davis scored only 27 points total. Davis scored 15 and made just nine shots.
After the game, Redick said he and the coaching staff needed to do a better job of giving Davis chances to score despite the Thunder’s defense focusing on slowing him down.
“This is the second game in a row that a team has done that, and he was a willing passer again, with seven assists,” Redick said. “He didn’t score the ball like he usually does, but he had an exceptional game.”
The Lakers (11-8) hit the road again for a four-game road trip that begins Sunday in Utah.
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This story was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.
