LeBron, LA Lakers Defeat OKC Thunder After OT, 114-113

The LA Lakers defeated Oklahoma City Thunder again, with LeBron James’ another excellent performance. King James led the LAL to a 114-113 OT win over the young Thunder, who fought bravely in this event.

They would have a 20-point lead midway through the second period but managed to waste it in the second half. Eventually, the Lakers shifted into a higher gear, even reaching the lead in the final period, but winning only following an extra five minutes.

It was James who hit a game-tying three in the closing moments of the regulation, and after that, the No.23 would play a superb defense in the OKC’s last attack to prevent a big surprise.

“Hey, teams lose games like this. We weren’t at our best in these three games, but we found ways to grind them out and get three Ws,” said Frank Vogel about tonight’s match.

The Lakers’ head coach spoke about the fact that the OKC played superbly in the first half, but that his team responded well, and that they had LeBron, who is dominating this season.

“He’s probably going to be an MVP,” Vogel added.

This was his third straight match with overtime included, and during this stretch, LBJ played 43 minutes per night. With a win, the LAL became only the seventh team in history to win three OT matches in a row.

LBJ scored 25 points, had seven assists and six boards in this one, with two steals. The shooting percentage wasn’t anything special, 9-for-20, but his appearance in the clutch moments was. Montrezl Harrell scored 20 points off the bench missing two of his 10 shots from the field, while, Dennis Schroder added 19 with 7 rebounds and five assists. Kyle Kuzma dropped 15 points.

The Lakers didn’t have Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso due to injuries. AD had some problems with Achilles, while Caruso because of a hand injury.

OKC had a massive handicap as well, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander skipping the match. His left knee injury separated him from the court for the third time in the last five games. SGA is the top scorer of the Thunder with 22.6 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.5 boards.

Kenrich Williams scored 24 points in Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence, 11-for-14 from the field, with 6 boards. Al Horford had 25 buckets with 8 boards and assists, while Hamidou Diallo posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 assists.

“I’m proud of our fight, the way we competed,” Williams said after his third start. “Coach always emphasizes playing the whole 48. We had a little extra time, more than 48, but I’m just proud of our guys.”

The problematic thing for the Thunder was the three-point shooting, as they made just seven of 31 shots. It would turn out in the end that the difference was made on the free-throw line, as the Lakers had ten shots more. OKC made 12 of their 14 attempts, and the Lakers 20 of 24.

Thunder has one more road game to play before heading home, against the Nuggets on Friday. After that, they are clashing with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Lakers have just one more at home, before hitting the road for a two-game trip. The next rivals of the champs are Ja Moran and the Memphis Grizzlies. The LAL will then head for Denver to meet the Nuggets and Minnesota to face the Timberwolves.