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The LA Lakers pulled off an exciting 112-105 victory over the OKC Thunder on Monday. LA won for just the third time in 2024 and snapped the Thunder’s four-game winning streak. Two of the Lakers’ last six wins have come at the expense of Oklahoma.
LA held off Oklahoma in a seesaw battle. Only the team’s 34-26 third-quarter advantage separated it from the young Thunder. Behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles improved its record to 20-21 with one of its best performances of the season.
Fans quickly reacted on X (formerly Twitter) following the Lakers’ win:
“why can’t we have these lakers every time”
Coach Darvin Ham has been preaching patience with his team. He has repeatedly said that the NBA is a marathon and not a sprint. LA has just been in a rough spot but he is convinced they will get the job done.
Since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament, LA is only 6-of-18. Despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis being largely healthy, they have struggled. The team has been having trouble finding a consistent tertiary option on offense behind the two superstars.
Ham’s offense has to be more consistent as well. The Lakers are 22nd in offensive rating heading into the game against the OKC Thunder. They will have to regain their form on that end or the struggles will not likely go away.
LA hit 52.4% of its shots, including 33.3% from deep. The Thunder, meanwhile, was held to 41.7% with just 30.6% shooting from three-point distance. If the offense can catch up with the defense, Ham’s team will show improvement.
Anthony Davis likes where the Lakers are doing
Like Darvin Ham, Anthony Davis thinks the LA Lakers need to weather the storm. The superstar big man had a great game against the OKC Thunder on Monday night. AD had 27 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block. The veteran dominated his matchup against the rising Chet Holmgren.
After the game, AD was asked about how he sees the team moving forward after an important win (via Dave McMenamin):
“We’ve been having a lot of injuries. It was always tough. At times when we were completely healthy, we played bad basketball. We know what we can be. We just got to get healthy. I like our team. I like what we’re doing like we did tonight. We got to continue on that path.”
Davis and his teammates better be consistent with what they plan to do. Per Tankathon, they have the 14th toughest schedule remaining among all 30 teams. They still have to face the Boston Celtics, OKC Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers. LA will also have to battle the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks twice each.
LA will have three more games at home before seeing action 7-of-8 times on the road. If the team can’t stay on the path Anthony Davis mentioned, making even the play-in tournament will be tough.
