NBA regular season

Thunder take down cold-shooting Lakers

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Thunder take down cold-shooting Lakers
The OKC Thunder limit the LA Lakers to one of their lowest scoring outputs

The Oklahoma City Thunder controlled the pace from the get-go and cruised to an upset win over the NBA Western Conference top seed Los Angeles Lakers, 105-86, on Wednesday August 5 (Thursday, August 6, Philippine time).

Chris Paul led the Thunder with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists alongside veteran big man Danilo Gallinari, who poured 19 markers and crashed 7 boards.

Steven Adams and Luguentz Dort also added 18 and 14 points, respectively, for the Thunder, who tied the Houston Rockets for the 5th spot in the West.

After Gallinari sparked a 16-6 run in the opening frame, the Thunder never looked back.

Markieff Morris managed to narrow the deficit to 5 points by the end of the first half, 50-45, but the Thunder opened the 3rd quarter with a 17-7 surge that led to a 19-point win. 

The Thunder, who already clinched a playoff berth, also recorded its fewest points allowed to the Lakers since 2016. 

After a 42-point eruption against the Jazz last Tuesday, Anthony Davis recorded his second-lowest point total in a Lakers uniform. The 27-year old superstar finished with 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting in 29 minutes. 

LeBron James dished out 19 points to go with 11 rebounds and 4 dimes for the Lakers, who dropped to 2-2 in the bubble. 

The Lakers had their season-worst 5-of-37 clip from behind the arc and only made 35% of their overall shots from the field. 

“Some things we need to continue to work on,” James said. “We’ve been out 4 1/2 months.

“When you put in the hours, put in the reps, you can’t worry to much. You’ve got to go get it.”

Everyone on the Lakers roster played as the purple and gold looked to the playoffs by testing combinations and talent to see who might work well together when needed later in the Orlando bubble, where games resumed last week after a four-month COVID-19 hiatus.

“We have some guys who are new to the system,” James said. “We’re just trying to fit everybody in, do it on the fly, but at the same time get our legs back underneath us.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to extend their win as they face the Memphis Grizzlies, who are winless since the restart, on Saturday.

Aeron Gabriel Pantig, Rappler.com/Agence France-Presse

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