LeBron James Leads Los Angeles Lakers to 116-95 Win Over Oklahoma City Thunder
After another loss in Memphis, the Anthony Davis-less Los Angeles Lakers finished their road trip winning, with LeBron James carrying the game against Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-95, on Friday night.
Anthony Davis missed his second game of the season with soreness in his knee, but the Lakers did not have any problems in terms of offensive firepower as "The King" started the game dominating. Davis' production was not missed in a rare dominant win on the road.
Los Angeles Lakers Let Rain Triples at Oklahoma City
According to Sports Illustrated, the LA Lakers jumped out to a 14-point cushion after the first quarter, and the purple and gold squad made sure that there would be no repeat of comeback wins for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The LeBron James-led squad did not allow the young Thunder team to repeat their comeback wins against the Lakers in the first two meetings. The Lakers led wire to wire throughout the game.
The 37-year-old NBA superstar James led the squad from the "City of Angels" with 33 points, six assists, and five rebounds. The King was not only lights out beyond the arc, but he also muscled his way to the point where he scored comfortably despite the challenge of OKC's young guns.
In another homecoming game for him, Lakers guard Russell Westbrook only took eight shots. But even with the 'unusual' low volume of shots, the triple-double machine still managed to round out a well-rounded stat line of eight points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
In his 19th season on a back-to-back, LeBron James showed no signs of slowing down in his game as he led the LA squad with 31 points on 17 shots after three quarters. From the start of the game in Oklahoma, The King imposed his will on the game as he looked to attack early in the ball game.
On the defense side, he was no slouch either, as The King had three steals and two blocks to round out an impressive performance.
Aside from LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, Lakers guard Avery Bradley also had his season-high 22 points, and it was huge for the Lakers, who had no other player that had scored in double digits after three quarters.
Despite the stellar performance from the Lakers squad, Talen Horton-Tucker still struggled this season. THT took seven shots, but he only finished with 11 points.
After scoring 70 points in his first two games back in November, THT has been struggling to get in a rhythm ever since the return of James into the lineup.
The presence of The King impacted the numbers of THT, a similar issue to Kyle Kuzma of not ever finding optimizing his role in playing alongside James as a forward.
After one of their best wins of the season against the rival Boston Celtics, the Lakers reverted to their usual lackadaisical play with a stinker against the Memphis Grizzlies.
However, the Lakers were able to hold the Oklahoma City Thunder to only 39.5 percent shooting. They were not able to do it on their other opponents this season.
READ MORE: San Antonio Spurs Destroy Denver Nuggets Despite Nikola Jokic's Triple-Double
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Written by: Jess Smith
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