The moment the Lakers won the mid-season tournament, everyone felt that the season was bright, and the Lakers might win the championship trophy with defense like they did three years ago, but who would have thought that after winning the championship, the Lakers were only 1-5, and recently suffered a four-game losing streak. Injuries can be a reason, but they must never be an excuse. Just lost to the Timberwolves, who are first in the West, the Lakers' schedule is still very difficult, and then there are the Thunder, who are second in the West, and the Celtics, who are the first in the East, waiting for them.
In this game, the Lakers challenged the Thunder away. The Thunder are now in full swing, having just ended the Clippers' nine-game winning streak, Alexander has shown what he can do as a superstar, and Jalen Williams and Holmgren are also not to be overlooked. It can be said that it is only a matter of time before this Thunder team is close to returning to the Finals.
Coach Ham broke through and directly relegated Russell to the bench, which is enough to show the determination of the Lakers. James went straight to the No. 1 position, plus Prince and Reddish, Vanderbilt and Davis, the five forward players started the game, and the basketball was the final form. At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, the two teams started an offensive battle, James got 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Davis also had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, Hachimura on the bench was very active, 12 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist on 5 of 6 shots, and the team scored 36 points in a single quarter.
The Lakers' offense is still good enough, but they are still three points behind the Thunder. Alexander continued to show his superstar prowess, scoring 12 points and five assists on 5-of-6 shooting, and the team hit six three-pointers in a single quarter, and the second place in the West was indeed well deserved. After returning from the game in the second quarter, James led the team to play a wave of 13-3 mini-climax, directly overtaking the Thunder by 7 points, making the opponent helpless to call a timeout. After returning from a timeout, Holmgren immediately scored a basket, Jalen made both free throws, Russell responded with three points, and Holmgren violently dunked.
Jalen also had a jumper, James scored three points, Jalen immediately responded with three points, James scored a layup, and Hachimura also made a mid-range shot. Wallace scored on a layup, Hachimura continued to shoot in the middle, Prince also made a shot, and the thick eyebrows hit a shot, and the difference came to 11 points. Alexander scored on a breakaway and Davis hit one of two free throws, but the Lakers grabbed the rebound and scored two more points. Jalen broke through to hit a layup, Reddish cut and dunked, and at the end of the half, the Los Angeles Lakers outscored the Oklahoma City Thunder by 12 points 71-59.
The Lakers' change of lineup had a good effect, although they allowed the Thunder to score 39 points in the first quarter, but it didn't matter, at least the team's offense matched. James, who came to the No. 1 position, can be said to be seamless, with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists on 5-of-8 shooting, as well as 1 steal and 1 block, once again letting us see the demeanor of the first person in the league in the past. Davis kept facing the bag with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Prince continued to play the role of a guard with a knife with 10 points and 3 rebounds, and Reddish and Van der Biao did not score.
Hachimura on the bench was very brave, with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist on 7-of-10 shooting, and Russell's departure to the bench does not mean that he is not important to the Lakers, with 12 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists on 4-of-6 shooting. The Thunder also showed their strength, Alexander had 14 points and 5 assists, Jalen Williams had 14 points and 2 rebounds, Holmgren also had 9 points and 4 rebounds, and the team's new three fewer performances were excellent, but the team fell into a scoring drought in the first quarter, scoring only 20 points in a single quarter, and only hitting 2 three-pointers, they must find their form as soon as possible.