Over the past five weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have plunged in the standings. After winning the in-season tournament, they were in fourth place in the Western Conference. They came into Monday in 11th place with a 19-21 record.
On Monday, they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that had the second-best record in the West and had won 12 of its last 15 games. Yet again, head coach Darvin Ham changed his starting lineup, and it looked like perhaps another loss in the making when L.A. looked shaky in the early moments of the contest, especially defensively.
But the Lakers started to find their game midway through the first quarter and went up by as many as eight points, although that lead was cut to one at the end of the period. The score was tied at 50 at halftime, but Los Angeles warmed up offensively and took an 84-76 lead into the fourth quarter. It ran up its lead to as many as 13 points, and despite some late-game miscues, held on for a 112-105 victory.
Although the Lakers shot 52.4% from the field, they won this game with defense. They held the Thunder, who came in third in scoring and second in shooting accuracy, to 41.7% shooting from the field and 30.6% from 3-point range. That defense allowed L.A. to score 21 fast-break points, while it surrendered only 11 fast-break points to the Thunder.
In addition, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who came into this game third in scoring average, scored a modest 24 points, while Rookie of the Year favorite Chet Holmgren managed just nine points on nine shot attempts.
This win moves the Lakers into 10th place in the Western Conference. Once again, they will have the opportunity to build on a big victory and start to win games in bunches.