The OKC Thunder lose another heart-breaker to the LA Lakers in an offensive shootout. Player grades serve up the highlights and details.
Oklahoma City and LA played each other just a few nights ago, the rematch tonight was another nail-biter. Both teams brought their offensive firepower in this one, as it was one of the more fun OKC Thunder games all season despite the tough loss.
The first quarter started with the Thunder playing great offensive basketball but poor defense. Thankfully, the Lakers forgot to bring their defense tonight as well, as both teams exchanged leads throughout the first period. All in all, it led to a one-point Laker advantage heading into the second quarter.
This is where things picked up. Both the OKC Thunder and Lakers began to showcase their offensive prowess. Each team had highlight level plays and numerous made 3-pointers as OKC recaptured a slim lead going into the halftime break. Players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley lead the way.
The second half started about as poorly as you could hope for if you are an OKC Thunder fan. Los Angeles came out of halftime swinging as they built a commanding 15-point lead halfway through the third period. But as this Thunder team has done all season, they fought back and trimmed the large lead down to three going into the final frame.
Playoff-like intensity was the theme for the fourth quarter. Rajon Rondo got ejected for hitting Dennis Schroeder below the belt and emotions were running high for both teams up until the final whistle. The OKC Thunder fought valiantly but ultimately fell short to the Lakers once again, this time by a score of 130-127.
Tough loss tonight, but it was an entertaining game nonetheless. On to player grades.