To wrap up their west coast road trip, the Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 107-104. In the two teams’ first matchup, the young Thunder got the best of the Lakers, coming back from a 26-point deficit.

Tonight’s game was very similar as the Thunder got down by 19 in the first half, but responded well yet again. The Thunder crawled their way back until eventually taking the lead in the third quarter. 

  • SGA made his official arrival.
  • The young star finished the game with 28 points (11 in 4Q), 3 rebounds, and 6 assists.
  • Stats only tell half of the story. Shai took every bit of control of the game down the stretch.
  • Needless to say, SGA is an All-Star. I can say with pure confidence that I did not expect him to be receiving double teams like Steph Curry. Or shooting from the logo like Steph Curry.
  • With the Thunder up by 3 points, a little over a minute to go, Shai took a shot from the Lakers’ midcoast logo:
  • Josh Giddey did a little bit of everything. While only having 5 points (2-of-9 shooting), Giddey added 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals.
  • Bazley had things going early, as he had 9 points in the first quarter, but would slow down after that.
  • Baze finished the game with 14 points and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes.
  • Lu Dort may have struggled offensively (3-for-11 on three-pointers), but he still finished with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. His defensive impact, especially being able to switch onto AD, helped tremendously down the stretch.
  • One player who should not be forgotten: Ty Jerome
  • Jerome kept the Thunder alive in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 13 points.
  • Poku only played 10 minutes, and went scoreless on 4 shots, while picking up 4 boards. He was a -13 in those minutes.
  • The Moose is loose.
  • Muscala may have had the most productive 7 minutes I have seen in a while. With all of his minutes in the crunch time, Muscala made big plays when it mattered most. 
  • It was evident early on that AD would have a big game, and he did so with 29 points and 18 rebounds.
  • Speaking of rebounds: Both teams finished the game with 49 total rebounds, impressive on OKC’s part.
  • Next up: Home vs. The San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.