Lakers survive in OT to beat the Thunder, moving their win streak to 5 games.
The Lakers went into overtime for the second straight game and survived, to beat a tough, energetic Oklahoma City Thunder team 119–112. This win gave the Lakers their 19th win of the season and moved their win streak to 5 games.
The Lakers came into tonight’s game without key players Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso. Anthony Davis was missed tonight on the rebounding aspect of tonight’s game as the Lakers allowed 15 offensive rebounds in 3 quarters from Oklahoma City. The Lakers played sloppily most of the night but were able to come out with a win because of key performances from Laker players on this team.
LeBron James notched his 3rd triple-double of the season in tonight’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. LeBron James achieved his triple-double on the night in 3 quarters and was vital in the 4th and in OT as he made key buckets to give the Lakers a win tonight. James finished tonight with 28 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists with 2 blocks, and 2 steals in another heavy minute night in 42 minutes. That makes it 88 minutes played in the last two games for LeBron James as both games went into overtime.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel spoke with the media about the heavy minutes LeBron James has had over the previous two games:
“He’s going to want to be in there, then [in OT] but we definitely need to monitor his minutes”
Dennis Schroder had another impactful night with his energy on both sides of the ball. Schroder had key defensive stops in overtime to give the Lakers a great cushion to win this game. In 37 minutes, Dennis Schroder had 19 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel also spoke to the media about the performance of Dennis Schroder tonight:
“He’s [Dennis Schroder] one of the best on-ball defenders in the game.”
After not playing the previous 4 games due to coach Vogel’s decision, Lakers Wesley Matthews came in tonight and gave this Lakers team a huge performance. With Alex Caruso out tonight that gave available minutes to Wesley Matthews and he gave an excellent performance.
Matthews finished tonight with 16 points on 5 of 7 (71%) shooting and 4 for 5 (80%) shooting from the 3 point arc. On the defensive side of the ball, he was impactful with 2 steals and 3 rebounds and a +/- of 10. The sheer professionalism to come into tonight and provide the Lakers with a huge spark off the bench shows the proficiency he has as a player.
Tonight Wes Matthews passed Steve Nash on the all-time 3 point list to move to the 24th spot on that list. Matthews was given the game ball after the game from Laker teammate Jared Dudley as Lebron said in his post-game interview and didn’t know until after that (Matthews) had achieved that accolade.
Lebron James spoke about Wesley Matthews professionalism after the game with the media:
“True professional for his ability to stay ready when his name would be called.”
The Lakers had 56 total bench points tonight as they continue to consistently provide an impact off the bench. With the bench exploding for 56 points, 3 players from the Lakers bench finished in double figures of the scoring column.
Montrezl Harrell finished tonight with a game-high off the bench 21 points on 9 of 14 (64%) shooting from the field. Harrell also was everywhere on the defensive side of the ball as he notched 8 rebounds and 1 block with a game-high +/- of 15.
Kyle Kuzma had an off-night shooting from distance tonight going 1 for 9 (11%) from the perimeter. But, Kuzma was able to finish with a double-double as he notched 11 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes.
With tonight’s win, the Lakers move to a record of 19–6 on the season and still remain in 2nd place in the Western Conference as they are neck and neck with the 19–5 Utah Jazz, who are currently on a 4 game win streak.
The Lakers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder again on Wednesday for the second time in a row as the Lakers look to climb their win streak to 6 games.