After losing four games in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers came into Saturday’s game versus the dangerous Oklahoma City Thunder in bad shape. Looking for something to spark his team, head coach Darvin Ham made a change to his starting lineup by inserting Jarred Vanderbilt in place of D’Angelo Russell. The hope was that the resulting extra length would give it more defensive ability and energy while allowing it to fast-break more easily.
After a competitive and offensive-minded first quarter, that increased defensive ability and length took effect. Los Angeles outscored the Thunder 35-20 in the second quarter to take a 71-59 halftime lead, and it led by as many as 26 in the third period.
Oklahoma City came in with the second-best record in the Western Conference for a reason, and it made a bit of a push down the stretch. But the Lakers were just too outstanding on Saturday, as they held on for a 129-120 victory.
The Lakers outplayed the Thunder in almost every category. They outrebounded the Thunder, had a season-high 37 assists, outscored the Thunder 16-6 in fast-break points and hit 50.0% from 3-point range versus 31.7% for the Thunder.
With a 16-14 record, L.A. is still in ninth place in the Western Conference. But now it has some burgeoning good vibes as it returns home for its Christmas Day showdown versus the hated Boston Celtics.
Anthony Davis: A
Davis continues to feast in the month of December. He scored 26 points while shooting 11-of-21 from the field, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots. He was double-teamed early and often, but he picked apart that defensive strategy with seven assists.
The superstar big man played a total of 42 points and was on the court for the entire second half. Keep in mind that he rolled his ankle in Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls and likely wasn’t feeling extremely well for Saturday’s game, yet he powered through it and delivered his usual excellent performance.
Cam Reddish: B-minus
Reddish struggled offensively, as he shot just 2-of-7 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. But he contributed in an area he usually doesn’t contribute in — passing. He had seven assists, and he also added four rebounds in 28 minutes.
Taurean Prince: B-plus
Prince was 3-of-7 overall and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, giving him 10 points. He also contributed six rebounds, two blocked shots, one steal and one assist in 28 minutes.
After shooting a chilly 29.3% from downtown in November, Prince is now at 39.2% from that distance for the season, which is a much-needed improvement for the Lakers.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B
Vanderbilt returned to the Lakers’ starting lineup for the first time since Game 3 of last season’s Western Conference Finals. In 24 minutes, he took down six rebounds and had one steal and one blocked shot. As usual, his energy and effort seemed to infuse L.A.
He often guarded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who came in as the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer. While Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, Vanderbilt at least made him work at times.
The Lakers forward scored only one basket on an assist from Davis when he dove to the basket. While they don’t necessarily need scoring from him, they will eventually need him to knock down enough 3-pointers. He missed his lone attempt from that distance on Saturday, and he’s now 0-of-9 from deep on the season.
LeBron James: A-plus
Coming off nearly 72 hours of rest (he didn’t play on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves), James was fresh and energetic. He scored a big 40 points, with 15 of them coming in the fourth quarter, while shooting 13-of-20 overall, 5-of-5 from downtown and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. He also contributed seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes.
This was James’ 75th 40-point game of his career. What he is doing just a week shy of his 39th birthday is simply remarkable, to say the least.
Austin Reaves: B-plus
This wasn’t a strong scoring game for Reaves — he put up 11 points — but he led L.A. with nine assists while committing only one turnover. With Ham going to a new starting lineup, it will be interesting to see how he manages using both Reaves and D’Angelo Russell off the bench.
D'Angelo Russell: B-plus
Russell came off the bench on Saturday for the first time since Game 4 of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. His first shot attempt was an air ball, but he hit his next four shots, including two treys.
Overall, he shot 5-of-9 and went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to score 15 points, and he also helped out with three assists in 17 minutes. After finally finding his shot late in Thursday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, perhaps Russell has awoken from the prolonged slump he has been in this month.
Rui Hachimura: A
Hachimura was hot early by hitting his first three shots, which included two 3-pointers, and scoring a dozen points in the first quarter. He finished the game with 21 efficient points, plus six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Jaxson Hayes: D
In six minutes, Hayes’ only contribution was one assist. With Hayes struggling to be a consistent contributor and Christian Wood seemingly out of Ham’s rotation, it’s starting to become clear L.A. needs improved big man depth moving forward.
