The Thunder have achieved their first victory of the season, and not exactly against a small rival. Daigneault’s team beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 123-115, taking advantage of the Los Angeles Lakers’ disaster in the second half, thus delving into the problems of Vogel’s men, who have not started the season in the best way. If they were already dragging some doubts, the image offered in the Paycom Center will undoubtedly generate many more, although it should be remembered that the Californians could not count on the presence of LeBron James for the second consecutive meeting.
This did not prevent them, however, from being a whirlwind in the first quarter, in which the differences between a team that aspires to the ring and another that aspires to number 1 in the draft became clear. Led by an aggressive Westbrook in the pot and fantastic in the playing generation and a great Davis acting as a finisher, the Lakers passed over a Thunder who had little opposition in the first 12 minutes of play. The 19-41 run seemed to suggest that it was an almost restful night for the visitors, and perhaps that was the problem.
There was no reaction from OKC with the arrival of the second quarter, but the game seemed to gradually enter a phase of relaxation, almost one of lack of competitiveness. The Lakers, who got to extend their advantage to 26 points (44-70), began to get carried away, to reduce the intensity in defense and lose their way in attack. And when they wanted to go back to the game, they couldn’t.
Shai commands the feat
Oklahoma City threatened a timid reaction at the end of the second quarter, in which they managed to reduce their deficit to 56-72 but it was in the third that they really punched the table. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was especially responsible for this, who scored 17 of his 27 points in the third period and was responsible practically alone to equalize the match. The point guard scored the last 14 of his goals in this period, culminating in his triple on the horn that gave the Thunder their first lead of the game.
Although Shai only added one free kick in the entire fourth quarter, the game was another. Josh Giddey, who finished with 18 points and 10 assists, took on gallons in difficult moments, Darius Bazley kept adding until he reached 20 points, and both Luguentz Dort and Derrick Favors did the same to finish with 17 and 15 respectively. Without the brightness of their star, the locals knew how to hold on to the front and never lose the leadership once they took it, thus achieving their debut this season.
The Lakers’ inability to react undeniably contributed to this. The Angelenos were only able to score 43 points in the entire second half (the Thunder scored 41 in the third quarter), and they were little more than a bunch of individuals waging war on their own. As a defining image, the two remained air balls, one from Malik Monk and the other from Carmelo Anthony in the two attempts to tie the game they had in the final seconds.
The triple-double of 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists (and 10 losses) from Russell Westbrook and 30 points from Anthony Davis were of little use. Nothing could prevent a stumbling block that should mark a turning point and drive the team to grow.
(Cover photo: Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)