Riding a three-game winning streak and coming in off of a hot shooting fourth quarter in their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Lakers had reason to hope they could push their run to four victories when facing an Oklahoma City Thunder team missing its two best players.
A 9-2 Thunder run to start the game set the tone early, and the Thunder led 28-19 after one while holding the Lakers to 31.8% shooting in the first quarter. No member of the purple and gold other than Jordan Clarkson scored more than 2 points in an ugly first period for the Lakeshow.
OKC led by as much as 13, but a Wesley Johnson (8 points in 15 first half minutes off of the bench) three pointer tied the game at 43 with three and a half minutes to go in the first half. A D.J. Augustin desperation three point heave at the halftime buzzer gave the Thunder a 56-48 lead to end two quarters of play.
The Lakers offense came alive in the second quarter, raising their field goal percentage to 41.7%. Ed Davis and Jeremy Lin continued their dynamic duo routine off of the bench in the second quarter, combining for 16 points and 8 rebounds worth of production for the Lakers' reserve corp.
After a back and forth third quarter, the Lakers trailed Oklahoma City 84-72 entering the final period, and that deficit would ultimately be too large to overcome. The Lakers "wasted" valiant efforts from Lin (20 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals) and Davis (10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks on a perfect 5-5 from the field), while Jordan Clarkson (12 points on 14 shots) exhibited the shooting struggles one would expect periodically from a second round rookie.
For the Thunder, frontcourt mates Serge Ibaka (18 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Enes Kanter (16 points, 15 rebounds), along with Augustin (18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) led the way to victory.
As well as the Lakers played over the past week, they are still over-matched from a talent perspective by the Thunder, even when missing their two stars. Moving on down the stretch of the season, the Lakers next head out on the road to face the Charlotte Hornets.