Friday presented the Los Angeles Lakers with a big opportunity to move up in the Western Conference standings and earn the tiebreaker over a team that had the same record as them.
They faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in a contest seen by everyone as having monumental importance.
Los Angeles started to take control late in the first quarter and built as much as a 17-point lead in the second period. But the Thunder charged back and made things close in the third quarter by pounding the offensive boards and momentarily going to a zone defense, as well as attacking the rim.
They tied the score multiple times in the fourth quarter, but each time they did, the Lakers were able to respond, which allowed them to emerge with a 116-111 win behind the dominant play of Anthony Davis.
The Lakers have gotten to .500 for the first time since early last season and are in eighth place with the same record as the seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves, a team they will play on March 31. They’re also 1.5 games behind both the sixth-place Golden State Warriors and the fifth-place Phoenix Suns.