After a standout performance in their recent win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Luka Doncic continued to lead the Los Angeles Lakers, this time scoring 30 points for the second game in a row as he led them to beat the West 1st seed Oklahoma City Thunder by a whopping 27 points, 126-99, which hints at a promising pace at this point in the season.

LeBron James scored 19 points and seven assists, while Austin Reaves dropped 20 points, and six Laker players finished with double-digit scoring as the Lakers came off with a huge victory. Every player in the squad even had a bucket, save for Christian Koloko. This is how dominant the Lakers have been in their win against the Thunder, who have now suffered their second back-to-back loss in the season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points, nine assists, three rebounds, and a steal and a block apiece on an efficient 12/23 shooting. However, no other Thunder player has managed to score more than 20 points, while SGA himself extended his streak of scoring at least 20 points to 71 games in a row. OKC has now dropped to 64-14, just a few days after being on the chase for 70 wins in the last week.

Lakers Dominance

The Los Angeles Lakers controlled the whole game from start to finish, and they even drilled 15 threes on 22 attempts in the first half alone. By the end of the game, Los Angeles has tallied 22 threes for 55% shooting from the field – another OKC opponent that has come up with a rare magnet ball shooting.

Doncic got to his spots and made easy work of the Thunder, coming up with impressive baskets and looking like his former Dallas self for most of the game. The Lakers also hounded the Thunder on the boards, outmuscling them on the glass with a 43-34 advantage – so much for OKC’s lineup featuring the twin towers of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren.

With the win, the Lakers pull close to three games within the second seed. They now have a one-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the third seed, and 1.5 games ahead of the Golden State Warriors – whom the Lakers lost to two nights ago. So far, this counts as a much-needed win considering how all the final games of the season would play a huge role in LA’s playoff positioning heading into the postseason action.

A Wake Up Call for OKC

Oklahoma City has lost its second game in a row, and the performance from the team in this game was really alarming to begin with. The bench looked dull for most of the game and didn’t really show up at all – considering that OKC’s bench is one of the deep rotations in the league. On top of that, the defensive rotations weren’t really quite on point as it was for most of the season, which says a lot about the difference that cost them this game.

In the span of two games, OKC has lost to the second seed and the eventual third seed of the Western Conference, which has analysts buzzing about the late struggles of the Thunder now more than ever. It did look similar to OKC’s struggles against the Dallas Mavericks in the West Semis last year, and they should be alarmed.

It is also worth noting that SGA did not attempt a single free throw for the first time since 2021, which says a lot about the claims that he’s been getting generational calls and being a free throw merchant. Considering how there’s just a few games left to play for the Thunder, one can say that they need to find out a way to get rid of their struggles now more than ever.