The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t fight off the desperate Los Angeles Lakers in their 129-120 loss on Saturday.
The Lakers declared the December duel a ‘must-win’ as they looked to snap a four-game losing streak. The veteran group certainly played like it as they adjusted their starting lineup and — more importantly — relished in LeBron James’ season-high 40 points.
Following the game, James spoke about the Thunder’s efforts in their loss as they fell to 18-9 on the season. OKC was led by the duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Williams had 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting and six rebounds.
OKC never retook the lead, but it managed to cut it to single digits in the final frame and threatened Los Angeles with a comeback attempt after it led by as many as 26 points.
“They just a good team,” James said on the Thunder. “We knew they were going to make a run on their home floor. They did a good job at pushing the ball either through Jalen Williams or Shai. Just try to attack the lane, put us on our heels. We got timely stops and we made timely stops, so big time for our team.”
