The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a much-needed win Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-95.
Playing without Anthony Davis certainly posed its challenges, but LeBron James, who dropped 33 points in the contest, received crucial assistance from shooting guard Avery Bradley.
Bradley was coming off a night against the Memphis Grizzlies when he shot 4-of-5 overall and 2-of-2 from deep. Against the Thunder, he contributed a season-high 22 points. Bradley hit 8-of-14 shots on the night, including a blistering 6-of-8 clip from long range.
He had that success while guarding OKC’s franchise cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who mustered just 11 points — he averages over 21 — on 5-of-12 shooting.
Bradley discussed his mindset when guarding the 23-year-old young star.
“I feel like he was a focal point for us tonight. The last two games he played extremely well. I just wanted to take the challenge and come out and try to make every play hard on him,” Bradley said. “But it was definitely a team effort. Me, personally, I did try to take that challenge on.”
Bradley continued about the looks he gets on offense when playing alongside LeBron and Russell Westbrook, mentioning how any of the role players could go off any time.
“I think it changes from game to game,” Bradley said. “We’re a team that’s very deep. It’s going to be different guys’ nights on any given night, and it’s our job to accept that and just go out and play our role. That’s what I did tonight. My focus was defense, and I was fortunate enough to get some looks on the offensive end and make some shots.”
It’s unclear how long Davis will be out, but it’s imperative for players like Bradley to step up every now and then and produce more than their usual amount.
Bradley, for example, averages under six points a game. He’s shown the last two games he’s clearly capable of scoring more; he just needs to improve his efficiency and consistency, which was the case against the Thunder.
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