The Los Angeles Lakers showed how dangerous their big three can be in Sunday’s road victory over Oklahoma City Thunder, the team with NBA’s best record.
Lakers (48-30) can strengthen that impression Tuesday when they drive it back to values Thunder.
“All the three guys we have are elite offensive players,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick about Luka Doncic, Lebron James and Austin Reaves. “You can try your best night-to-night to find out where the weak points are and where you can create an advantage.”
In Sunday’s victory 126-99, Doncic and Reaves combined for nine of Los Angeles season’s high 22 3-points.
“With the addition of Luka and the subtra-heating of (Anthony Davis), their attack becomes more circumference and less inner,” said Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said that there is a balance measure in not putting too much warehouse in the previous matchup while trying to learn something from it.
Oklahoma City (64-14) dressed the top seed in the Western conference almost three weeks ago, and although it won its next seven matches after dressing up to expand its winning line to 11, Thunder has now dropped back-to-back games for the second time this season.
“If you leave someone alone in the gym, they usually don’t shoot so well from 3,” said Daigneault. “So there is a bullet -creating element. But I also think there is a focus element that we missed in the game.”
Several Thunders have recently said that they fought against human nature to prevent a calm on their way into the season.
“Not to make it an apology, but if we win or lose, our position will not change, of course it will slip in,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The challenge for each team is different, and the challenge is for us to make sure we remain focused and continue to play with that feeling of urgent.”
Jalen Williams said Thunder just needs to continue to do what they have done all season and does not overreact to the last two games.
“I don’t think it’s lost,” Williams said. “I don’t know about“ find it again. “It’s not lost.
With another victory, Thunder would set the one-season record for victorious-over-over-team team 1995-96, which went 64-18 when the franchise was in Seattle.
While Thunder can look forward to the season, Los Angeles still has a lot to play for during the regular season.
Lakers enters the game in third place in the Western Conference, 3 1/2 matches behind Houston for second and 1 1/2 matches before Denver for third with four matches left. They can end as high as others and as low as eighth.
Doncic said that the final game -like environment in Oklahoma City in combination with the competitive race in the Western conference helped to tighten his focus.
“It’s very hard to play here,” Doncic said. “It is very tough to win, but when you look at the position today it is crazy in the West. It takes out the competitiveness out of me.”
Tuesday’s game is the first of a back-to-back for Lakers, who will play Wednesday at Dallas in Doncic’s first game where he was traded at Lakers for Davis on February 2.
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