OKLAHOMA CITY — The postseason street the Lakers wish to take seemingly will roll by way of Oklahoma Metropolis in some unspecified time in the future, the unquestioned finest workforce within the Western Convention having performed its approach to the highest with a stage of all-around excellence not often seen.
And the Lakers, heading into their remaining week of the common season, have both the great fortune or the curse of getting to check themselves towards the workforce with the NBA’s finest document.
At its worst, the video games towards the Thunder may expose the Lakers’ weaknesses. Oklahoma Metropolis is youthful and hungrier with extra measurement on the rim, capitalizing on benefits the Lakers will wrestle to beat.
However when the Lakers are at their finest — and whoa, they have been definitely at their finest Sunday — they will show to everybody, particularly themselves, that their mixture of otherworldly particular person offensive expertise and versatile, scrambling protection can maintain down even essentially the most proficient of groups.
From early red-hot capturing to full-game focus, the Lakers stamped themselves as full-fledged contenders within the West by dominating the Thunder 126-99 in an all-caps, bold-lettered assertion win.
Luka Doncic, who knocked the Thunder out of the postseason final season on the way in which to the NBA Finals, went deep into his bag of expertise, spinning round defenders, firing passes over his head and stepping again and splashing over the Thunder’s league-best protection.
He scored 30 factors and had seven assists, however extra importantly, he helped puncture Oklahoma Metropolis’s smothering perimeter protection.
Austin Reaves, who has cemented himself as one of many Lakers’ most necessary gamers alongside Doncic and LeBron James, opened one other sport scorching from three-point vary whereas doing admirable work on MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Reaves scored 20 and Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 factors, however not often have been any of his buckets simple.
And James, who has regained a few of his defensive type coming off a groin harm, scored 19 factors however extra importantly helped manage the Lakers towards the Thunder’s stellar supporting solid, together with 7-footer Chet Holmgren, who scored solely 10 factors.
The Lakers (48-30) answered the largest questions in negating one of many Thunder’s largest strengths. The Lakers fought for free balls, they prolonged possessions on the offensive glass they usually restricted their errors.
And when the Thunder (64-14) pushed, they usually did, Dorian Finney-Smith or Gabe Vincent helped extinguish the spark rapidly.
