After winning four of five games and three in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers’ budding momentum was popped on Tuesday when they were without LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell and fell, 121-109, to the Memphis Grizzlies.
On Wednesday, they were also without the services of Anthony Davis when they took on the Oklahoma City Thunder to close a three-game road trip.
Los Angeles built a 10-2 lead, only to lose its lead in the second quarter. Unlike on Tuesday, it was able to fight back.
The Lakers took control after halftime by outscoring the Thunder, 33-24, in the third quarter, and they held on for a 123-117 victory. It gave them five wins in their last seven contests and moved them one step closer to a play-in tournament spot.
The team is in 11th place in the Western Conference, half a game behind the 10th-place New Orleans Pelicans. It returns to the Southland for a five-game homestand.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B-minus
Vanderbilt didn’t have as much of an impact tonight as Lakers fans have been getting used to since he arrived nearly three weeks ago. But that was to be expected, as he had neither James nor Davis to play off of.
The forward had four rebounds and scored seven points, to go along with one assist, one steal and one blocked shot in 23 minutes.
Troy Brown Jr.: A-plus
Brown got the Lakers going early by getting hot from the perimeter. He hit his first four shots of the game, three of which were 3-pointers, and he stayed potent the remainder of the night.
He finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 overall shooting and 4-of-7 from downtown, plus four assists.
The Lakers haven’t consistently received defensive production from Brown, but in this game, he had two blocks and a steal to help their cause.
As long as James is out, Brown will need to be efficient offensively. It’s not about how many points he scores, but how many of his shot attempts go through the net.
Mo Bamba: A-minus
Starting in place of Davis, Bamba, one of L.A.’s new acquisitions, scored a dozen points and made all but one of his five shots, which included making 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He grabbed seven rebounds and added two assists, one steal and one block.
When he wasn’t blocking shots, Bamba helped deter shots at or near the rim, which emboldened the Lakers’ defense. Although they gave up too many points considering the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Bamba’s rim protection helped them limit Oklahoma City to 27.5% from downtown.
Bamba’s one blemish was four turnovers. However, as a team, the Lakers did a good job in that department by only committing 13 turnovers, in stark contrast to their 26 turnovers last night versus Memphis.
Dennis Schroder: A
Schroder struggled in the first half, going just 1-of-7, but he caught fire in the third quarter. He was one of the main reasons L.A. rebuilt its lead in that frame, and his 26 points was a team-high.
The German native was fairly efficient, going 8-of-18 overall, 3-of-6 from 3-point land and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line despite tweaking his ankle at one point.
He also added six assists, two steals and one block, and a night after committing six turnovers, he had just three giveaways.
Malik Beasley: C
Beasley went just 4-of-15 overall and 3-of-12 from 3-point range, giving him 11 points in 27 minutes, but he contributed in other areas.
He got six rebounds and dished off two assists to help the Lakers’ cause. He has a reputation as a one-dimensional gunner, but since coming to L.A., he has shown a willingness to move the ball and play some passable defense.
Rui Hachimura: A-minus
Hachimura only scored nine points in 27 minutes, although he was efficient, hitting on 3-of-6 shots overall and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. But he contributed in more ways than one.
He claimed nine rebounds, three of them on the offensive boards, and he even blocked three shots, which was a very pleasant bonus.
Hachimura has had a reputation for being a lackluster defender, but he has the length to become above-average in that department. With four blocks in his last two games, perhaps he will turn the corner on defense.
Wenyen Gabriel: B/B-plus
Gabriel struggled offensively, making just 2-of-7 shots to score five points. But he produced 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes, which helped prevent the Lakers from getting outrebounded by a sizable margin.
At one point late in the fourth quarter, the Thunder intentionally fouled him away from the ball to force him to shoot free throws. He made one of two, and afterward, he was briefly taken out of the game until the two-minute mark to prevent the Thunder from intentionally hacking him again.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves has been on a nice mini-streak lately. He made all six of his shots last week in a win over the Golden State Warriors, and he went perfect again on Wednesday by making all five of his field-goal attempts.
He did miss one of his nine free-throw attempts, but otherwise, he did a nice job of filling in some of the Lakers’ holes.
He ended with 19 points in just 25 minutes, and he also did well as the team’s secondary ball-handler at times, as he logged four assists against just one turnover.
Lonnie Walker IV: B-minus
Walker was just 2-of-7 from the floor, but he went 1-of-2 from downtown, and he did a terrific job of attacking the basket, which led to 11 free-throw attempts, of which he made eight. He finished with 13 points plus two boards, one assist and one steal in 18 minutes.
Max Christie: Incomplete
Christie got six minutes of playing time in the first and second quarters, and he quickly hit a smooth perimeter shot once he entered the game. His only other contribution on the stat sheet was one steal.
