The Los Angeles Lakers recently hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Crypto.com Arena. Impressively, the purple and gold have gone 3-0 against OKC this season. This comes off as a complete surprise considering that the OKC is the best team in the Western Conference.
The game concluded at 116-104 at the end of regulation and they managed to secure a huge victory after falling to the Denver Nuggets on March 2. Major props must go to D’Angelo Russell, who led the Lakers in points. Russell has been averaging a consistent 17.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game as a starter.
Los Angeles Lakers player stats
During this matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers were shaved off some depth as Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Christian Wood were sidelined. All three players have been battling various injuries throughout the season. Luckily, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have not faced any major setbacks lately.
| Player | Minutes | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
| LeBron James | 31 | 19 | 8 | 11 |
| Rui Hachimura | 22 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Anthony Davis | 30 | 24 | 4 | 12 |
| D’Angelo Russell | 34 | 26 | 3 | 6 |
| Austin Reaves | 29 | 16 | 7 | 6 |
| Spencer Dinwiddie | 24 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Taurean Prince | 22 | 14 | 1 | 6 |
| Jaxson Hayes | 18 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Cam Reddish | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
The Thunder did a great job restricting James from putting up more than 20 points. The King finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds including 8 assists. Davis also finished with a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds. Russell had 26 points to lead the team in scoring.
Turnovers were a bit excessive as LA recorded 20 against the Thunder. They shot 51.3% from the field, 47.1% from the three-pointer arc, and only 72% from the foul line.
Oklahoma City Thunder player stats
OKC simply had an off night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring but was only restricted to 20 points including 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Other Thunder players failed to score more than 15 points.
| Player | Minutes | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
| Jalen Williams | 26 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Luguentz Dort | 24 | 15 | 2 | 2 |
| Chet Holmgren | 28 | 15 | 1 | 7 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 30 | 20 | 4 | 7 |
| Josh Giddey | 29 | 13 | 4 | 5 |
| Cason Wallace | 22 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Aaron Wiggins | 16 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Gordon Hayward | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Isaiah Joe | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Chet Holmgren scored only 15 points along with 7 rebounds. Luguentz Dort also posted 15 points while Josh Giddy contributed 13 points and Aaron Wiggins had 12 points.
OKC found it tougher to score within the paint due to AD’s efforts against Holmgren. However, they record fewer turnovers than LA while finishing with an impressive 12 steals.
