On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 129-120 to end a four-game losing run led by LeBron James, who scored a career-high 40 points.
CITY OF OKLAHOMA (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers ended a four-game losing streak on Saturday night by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 129-120 behind a season-high 40 points from LeBron James.
The 38-year-old James made 13 of his 20 field goals, nailed five 3-pointers, and converted all nine of his free throw attempts. In addition, he had two blocks, seven assists, and seven rebounds.
With 3:32 remaining in the third quarter, Oklahoma City's lead has shrunk from 26 points to eight points halfway through the fourth quarter. James then took over, leading the Lakers to a 4:29 victory with 11 points.
It's always a fantastic feeling, James said, "to know I can go out and still make game-winning plays, can affect the game in multiple ways, and can still close out a game in the fourth quarter when our team needed when they started making a run."
For the Lakers, Anthony Davis added 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Davis had said that this was a game that needed to be won. Austin Reaves added 11 points and nine assists, while Rui Hachimura scored 21 points to lead Los Angeles, who had lost all five games since winning the In-Season Tournament.
With a season-high 37 assists to just nine turnovers, the Lakers shot 52.2%.
James remarked, "Everyone was passing the ball and making shots." "We made an effort to not turn the ball over and to stay on schedule and on aim. That held the secret to it.
Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points. Chet Holmgren contributed 10 rebounds and 19 points, while Jalen Williams tallied 28 points. The Thunder had won five of six games and three in a row.
Los Angeles led 71-59 at the half thanks to 16 points from Hachimura in the first half. During the first two quarters, the Lakers shot 60% from the field.
Early in the third quarter, James made a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 78-64 with the 7-foot-1 Holmgren in his face. This prompted the Thunder to call a timeout. After making another 3-pointer, James tossed to Davis for a spectacular two-handed slam that put the Lakers ahead 90–70 and prompted Oklahoma City to call another timeout.
With almost four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Reaves made a 3-pointer, was fouled, and then made the free throw to give the Lakers a 98-75 lead. Los Angeles led 107-91 going into the fourth quarter.
Halfway through the last quarter, the Thunder cut the lead to single digits, but the Lakers held on. With 3:26 remaining, James' corner three over a Gilgeous-Alexander closeout gave the Lakers a 123-110 lead.
"They played with a team that was hungry for a victory," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault remarked. "I don't think we played poorly, carelessly, or softly—rather, we just didn't play to the level that we needed to, particularly in the first half. We also gave them time to sort of settle into a rhythm. And I believed it to be the actual objective of the game. Thus, it's a valuable lesson for us.
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