Thunder Rolls Past Lakers,120-85
- Updated: December 25, 2015
The Los Angeles Lakers had a second chance last night to get even with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but settled for another large defeat, 120-85.
What a true difference a half makes, as the two teams were close at halftime. In this game, experience outplayed youth, as the Thunder was a totally different team in the second half, especially the third quarter, shredding the Lakers for 35 points, as the team kicked it into high gear, to put this one out of reach. Four of the five starters for the Thunder were in double figures, led by Russell Westbrook‘s 23 and Kevin Durant, with 21.
Kobe Bryant led the team with 19 points, on 7 of 22 from the floor, but only scoring two points in the second half. D’Angelo Russell came off the Lakers bench to provide the other end of the offensive punch, scoring 18 points, as he also connecting for four three-pointers.
MISSING, was the play of Julius Randle, who sat out this game, due to a sprained left ankle, hopefully he can return on Friday against the Clippers. Larry Nance Jr. left the game due to some soreness in his left hand, no official update on his condition at this moment.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS FOR THE LAKERS:
That third quarter says it all, the Thunder just simply shut down the Lakers offense, but the Lakers did manage to shoot better from three-point range in this game, 28% on 7 of 25. The one number that is just horrifying is the points in the paint, 76 for the Thunder, 32 for the Lakers.
NEXT UP FOR THE LAKERS:
The team will stay at home to face the team that they share the building with, the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are coming off a home loss to this same Oklahoma City Thunder team as well. This is the first meeting between the two teams, and the game will be played on Christmas Day, which is a great tradition for all basketball fans. The Lakers (5-24), and Clippers will start at 7:30 PST.
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