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Sunday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder was lopsided, as the Lakers took control in the first quarter and never let up en route to a 126-99 victory. The two teams met again on Tuesday, and while the result was also lopsided, the game played out differently than the one on Sunday.
Bothy teams came out hot, and the score was tied at 43-all at the end of the first quarter. Oklahoma City went up 80-72 at halftime, but the Lakers fought back to take a slight lead several minutes later and looked to have a good chance at another win over the team with the NBA's best record.
But things went downhill in the fourth quarter. Luka Doncic was called for his second technical foul with 7:40 left and L.A. up 108-107, and he was tossed as a result. Once the score was tied at 112, it was all Thunder from that point on. The Lakers couldn't get stops and went cold offensively at the same time, resulting in a frustrating 136-120 loss.
Turnovers were the big difference in this game. The Lakers committed 19 turnovers, which led to 29 Oklahoma City points, while Oklahoma City only had seven turnovers.
They're still in third place in the Western Conference with a 48-31 record, and they need just two more wins to clinch the third seed. However, they have just three games left, starting with Wednesday's contest at the Dallas Mavericks. They will then host the second-place Houston Rockets on Friday and visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Finney-Smith started in place of Rui Hachimura, who was held out due to patellar tendinopathy. He was hot early, as he made each of his first four shot attempts, all of which were 3-pointers. But he missed his four remaining shot attempts, which limited him to 12 points.
Defensively, he guarded Jalen Williams, and Williams lit him up for 26 points.
Hayes played 27 minutes, which is more than usual for him, and he scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds while blocking two shots and adding two assists.
Reaves scored 24 points, with 18 of them coming in the first half when he almost seemingly couldn't miss from long distance. He ended up going 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and he did a good job of drawing fouls, especially in the fourth quarter, when he attempted 10 foul shots.
However, he missed three of his last four foul shots, and those three misses came just as the game was getting away from Los Angeles. He added five rebounds and five assists, but he also committed four turnovers.
Doncic did well in the first half with 16 points, and while he went 1-of-6 in the third quarter, he looked like he was perhaps on his way to doing well in the fourth quarter — until his ejection.
It was a questionable and perhaps an unjustified second technical foul that triggered that ejection. He got that technical foul for talking trash, but he appeared to be talking trash to a fan in the crowd and not anyone on the Thunder. He had 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five assists and three rebounds at that time.
One thing that the ejection made evident is how valuable Doncic is to the Lakers. One could even make an argument that he has become even more valuable than LeBron James, given how he is their main ball-handler in halfcourt situations and how much defensive attention he attracts.
He will surely be amped up to return to his old stomping grounds in Dallas on Wednesday.
James was cold early, and he went just 2-of-7 in the first half. He warmed up a bit in the third quarter and had 19 points through three quarters, and he scored seven quick points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to help L.A. keep pace with the Thunder.
However, he didn't pick up enough of the slack after Doncic exited. He scored 28 points on the night but shot an anemic 8-of-19 from the field, and his key stat was his six turnovers. James also had only three assists in 35 minutes.
If the Lakers had won this game, Vanderbilt may have gotten the game ball. He played 20 minutes and brought down 12 rebounds, eight of them coming on the offensive boards, and his activity led to additional rebounds since he boxed out and tipped at least one ball to a teammate.
He also scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, blocked two shots and added one steal.
Vincent has had a few great games lately, but it wasn't his night on Tuesday. He went just 2-of-7 from the field and missed all but one of his six 3-point attempts, and he finished with five points, two assists and one steal. Defensively, he also didn't do a whole lot. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander burned the Lakers with 42 points, which is nearly 10 more than his season average and 16 more than he had on Sunday.
Goodwin hustled for four rebounds and hit two of his four 3-point attempts to score six points in 13 minutes.
In 14 minutes, Knecht made one of his two 3-point tries, but overall, he was just 1-of-4 from the field. He finished with three points and three rebounds.
Jemison scored one basket and Koloko hit two free throws, giving them two points apiece, while Milton went scoreless. All three ended up with one rebound each.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. couldn't keep up with the Thunder
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Bothy teams came out hot, and the score was tied at 43-all at the end of the first quarter. Oklahoma City went up 80-72 at halftime, but the Lakers fought back to take a slight lead several minutes later and looked to have a good chance at another win over the team with the NBA's best record.
But things went downhill in the fourth quarter. Luka Doncic was called for his second technical foul with 7:40 left and L.A. up 108-107, and he was tossed as a result. Once the score was tied at 112, it was all Thunder from that point on. The Lakers couldn't get stops and went cold offensively at the same time, resulting in a frustrating 136-120 loss.
Turnovers were the big difference in this game. The Lakers committed 19 turnovers, which led to 29 Oklahoma City points, while Oklahoma City only had seven turnovers.
They're still in third place in the Western Conference with a 48-31 record, and they need just two more wins to clinch the third seed. However, they have just three games left, starting with Wednesday's contest at the Dallas Mavericks. They will then host the second-place Houston Rockets on Friday and visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Dorian Finney-Smith: B-minus
Finney-Smith started in place of Rui Hachimura, who was held out due to patellar tendinopathy. He was hot early, as he made each of his first four shot attempts, all of which were 3-pointers. But he missed his four remaining shot attempts, which limited him to 12 points.
Defensively, he guarded Jalen Williams, and Williams lit him up for 26 points.
Jaxson Hayes: B
Hayes played 27 minutes, which is more than usual for him, and he scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds while blocking two shots and adding two assists.
Austin Reaves: A-minus
Reaves scored 24 points, with 18 of them coming in the first half when he almost seemingly couldn't miss from long distance. He ended up going 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and he did a good job of drawing fouls, especially in the fourth quarter, when he attempted 10 foul shots.
However, he missed three of his last four foul shots, and those three misses came just as the game was getting away from Los Angeles. He added five rebounds and five assists, but he also committed four turnovers.
Luka Doncic: B
Doncic did well in the first half with 16 points, and while he went 1-of-6 in the third quarter, he looked like he was perhaps on his way to doing well in the fourth quarter — until his ejection.
It was a questionable and perhaps an unjustified second technical foul that triggered that ejection. He got that technical foul for talking trash, but he appeared to be talking trash to a fan in the crowd and not anyone on the Thunder. He had 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five assists and three rebounds at that time.
One thing that the ejection made evident is how valuable Doncic is to the Lakers. One could even make an argument that he has become even more valuable than LeBron James, given how he is their main ball-handler in halfcourt situations and how much defensive attention he attracts.
He will surely be amped up to return to his old stomping grounds in Dallas on Wednesday.
LeBron James: C-plus/B-minus
James was cold early, and he went just 2-of-7 in the first half. He warmed up a bit in the third quarter and had 19 points through three quarters, and he scored seven quick points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to help L.A. keep pace with the Thunder.
However, he didn't pick up enough of the slack after Doncic exited. He scored 28 points on the night but shot an anemic 8-of-19 from the field, and his key stat was his six turnovers. James also had only three assists in 35 minutes.
Jarred Vanderbilt: A
If the Lakers had won this game, Vanderbilt may have gotten the game ball. He played 20 minutes and brought down 12 rebounds, eight of them coming on the offensive boards, and his activity led to additional rebounds since he boxed out and tipped at least one ball to a teammate.
He also scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, blocked two shots and added one steal.
Gabe Vincent: D
Vincent has had a few great games lately, but it wasn't his night on Tuesday. He went just 2-of-7 from the field and missed all but one of his six 3-point attempts, and he finished with five points, two assists and one steal. Defensively, he also didn't do a whole lot. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander burned the Lakers with 42 points, which is nearly 10 more than his season average and 16 more than he had on Sunday.
Jordan Goodwin: B
Goodwin hustled for four rebounds and hit two of his four 3-point attempts to score six points in 13 minutes.
Dalton Knecht: C-plus/B-minus
In 14 minutes, Knecht made one of his two 3-point tries, but overall, he was just 1-of-4 from the field. He finished with three points and three rebounds.
Trey Jemison III, Christian Koloko, Shake Milton: Incomplete
Jemison scored one basket and Koloko hit two free throws, giving them two points apiece, while Milton went scoreless. All three ended up with one rebound each.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. couldn't keep up with the Thunder
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