The Lakers defeated the Thunder 116-104 at home, the Thunder lost the game process of the two teams, the difference between the two teams reached 25 points at most, and there were 9 minutes 06 seconds left in the final quarter Daimport took the initiative to give up the game, and the Thunder, the first in the West, disarmed, and then the third team of the two teams competed against the Thunder to recover some lost points.
After the game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham was interviewed about his team's pull away in the second three quarters, saying, "I think early in the game. They made some shots and we kept making mistakes. We didn't completely collapse, we continued to defend. I told them at halftime that it was the best defensive half I've seen all season. We just worked so hard to stay in the defensive position against the ball carrier, our rotation and aggressiveness behind the initial defenders, our help under the basket, and the good protection of the rebounds, but the early turnovers hurt us a little bit often. We still got some good chances, playing inside impact and the players were hitting the ball. But our defense, hats off to our players. They really stepped up and defended really well. ”
When asked about the positive impact of LeBron James' defensive dynamism on the team tonight, Ham said: "It's the ones that he did to make sure that little guy stays high if he's playing against a shorter player on the weak side of the defense." He's a taller defender, staying in the low post, they try to throw an open pass, he comes from the weak side to help break their open catch, and his role is important. He defended and stayed defensive, causing some opponents to hesitate when they had the ball, which was great. When he's committed like that, he's one of the best defenders. His defensive instincts, his communication skills are key and give everyone confidence. ”
In this game, Reaves played 29 minutes and scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists on 6-of-8 shooting.
Asked if he felt like D'Angelo Russell had overshadowed his own 4-of-5 three-point run, Reeves said: "Haha, when he's hot, when he's scoring in a short period of time, it's a wonderful look. If you play back the footage, as soon as he got the ball, the AD and I were on our feet, and we knew he was going to shoot, even if he passed. We know LeBron [James] is going to pass the ball back to him, we know he's going to shoot. Once he makes a move, it looks like he's going to get in. But, yes, if I could make 4 of 5 shots and be overshadowed by whatever we do, I'd be the first to be happy about it. ”
Speaking about the defensive contagion among teammates, Reaves said: "I think you have to put in the effort no matter what, and this is the NBA, a lot of times you play great defense and they still score. Of course, defending Shay (Gilgeous Alexander), sometimes you think you're defending well, but he still shoots against people. But when your starters put in that kind of effort, and LeBron [James] moves the defensive pace like that, and AD (Anthony Davis) does AD as always, we're just infected. That was the main thing tonight, which was to show good energy early. The start of the game was not good, but we kept working hard and good things happened. ”
In this game, Russell played 33 minutes, shooting 9 of 17, including 5 of 11 three-pointers and 3 of 5 free throws, and scored 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.
According to statistics, Russell is the third player in Lakers history to score 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 5 three-pointers in a single game, comparable to Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson.
Speaking about the game, Russell said: "The opponents are very strong, they are well trained, they are very energetic, they must not relax at any time, this team has a very high level and is very efficient, you have to be ready to play against them for 100,000 points, it is not an accident to beat them. ”
When asked by reporters if he agrees with the hot hand theory, Russell said: "That's inevitable, it looks like I did that tonight, sometimes I'm hot and I'm going to shoot more, tonight's game itself was intense, but I was able to inject some extra passion into the game, which was great." ”
Speaking about his third three-pointer in the fourth quarter before passing to LeBron James and being returned by the latter, Russell said, "yes, I was going to shoot before I made the pass. I heard him, I didn't know what he was talking about, I thought he was going to attack Chet [Holmgren] or who, and then I heard him say, 'Shoot!'" You vote! You vote! I didn't even know I was throwing, I didn't even look at the basket, I just threw it over there. Lucky shot. ”
In this game, Davis scored 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks on 7-of-12 and 10-of-11 free throws.
"It's very important to play against the Kings because we're going to play them twice in the coming week, and they're very talented, so we have to take it seriously and win this game so that playing them again will boost our confidence a lot," Davis said of the upcoming fixtures. ”
Asked if the 3-1 run by the Thunder makes sense for playoff prospects, Davis said, "It's definitely about us, it's about getting into the playoffs. We're a little bit behind in terms of record, but we're there. If we don't finish in the top six, you're going to have to go through the play-offs again and we don't care what seed we're in, we showed last year that it doesn't matter. This thinks this applies to anyone, you just have to work hard to get in, and the playoffs are different areas. We don't think of it as a group that we'd rather play this group than that group, it's all about getting into the playoffs and then attacking every opponent at that point. ”
In this game, James played 30 minutes, shooting 7 of 14, including 1 of 3 three-pointers and 4 of 5 free throws, scoring 19 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal.
Speaking about the team's defensive performance in the second and third quarters, James said: "I think we did a good job of keeping the defense in place, and we know they're one of the best one-on-one teams in the league, they have a lot of scoring from the box, but they also shoot well from the outside. So it's about doing a good man-to-man defense, and then if we get them to miss, we protect the rebounds, and we don't give them too many secondary points, which is critical. ”
Speaking about the team's recent offensive performances, which have been among the best in the league, James said: "We know that when the ball is moved and everybody feels comfortable, we've been able to play some good games on the offensive end. I think we had too many unforced errors tonight and that's something we need to polish and we know we can't do that. But overall, you know that DLO (D'Angelo Russell) is on fire, and TP (Torrion Prince) has an exciting projection tonight. But everybody on the bench did well, Spencer [Dinwiddie] had a +35 plus/minus off the bench, so that's key for us as well. ”
Speaking about the X-factor played by D'Angelo Russell's projection confidence, James said: "We know, I told you the other day that DLO can be on fire, he can make three or four three-pointers in a row and pull the game apart. Today he did it again. He's got that terrible projection, and once he sees a basketball go into the net, he can make three or four shots in a row, stir up the emotions of the crowd, and get the morale up and get the momentum of the game. ”
Wait, pay attention and then go, I wish you all a rich country as soon as possible, thank you.