The Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to win three games in a row, Instead, they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-115, after blowing a 26-point lead.
Despite not having LeBron James available due to a sore right ankle, the Lakers still had Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook on the court, which was more than enough star power to defeat Oklahoma City the day after beating the San Antonio Spurs.
The Lakers established a 41-19 lead after the first quarter that ballooned to a 26 advantage in the second, but that’s when the Thunder began chipping away before catching fire from beyond the arc in the third quarter.
Los Angeles had to come back in the fourth, just as it did against the Spurs, but this time, the effort was unsuccessful.
Head coach Frank Vogel after the game explained what went wrong for his squad.
“Disappointing loss,” Vogel said. “We took our foot off the gas after that big first-quarter lead, which happens in the NBA. Usually, you can catch yourself and sustain it, but we weren’t able to do that.
Vogel elaborated on how the Lakers played after the first quarter.
“Ball stopped moving side-to-side. I got to do a better job of making sure that our guys are moving side to side and our focus, intensity, effort on the defensive end, that slipped as well,” Vogel said.
The head coach continued about what the Lakers learned from the loss.
“Disappointing loss, but a lesson learned,” Vogel said. “NBA season is a long season and a lesson for our group that you can’t ever take your foot off the gas against anyone.”
Los Angeles next plays the Thunder on Nov. 4, which is about a week away. The Lakers need to come with better focus and energy in that game to make up for this frustrating loss because, as Vogel said, L.A. can’t take any opponent lightly, even if it’s the youngest team in the NBA.
[listicle id=51043]
[mm-video type=video id=01fk14jkp9s7a6czq7z1 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fk14jkp9s7a6czq7z1/01fk14jkp9s7a6czq7z1-1f18c349fe05b3d3eaaba532dfd0bbda.jpg]