A 26-point night courtesy of D’Angelo Russell was enough for the Lakers to take the previously No.1 seed Thunder 116-104 in Los Angeles.
Russell (26 pts, 6 reb, 4 stl, 5/11 3P) continued his strong play with a trio of heat check threes early in the fourth blowing the contest wide open and laying the platform for LA’s 34th win of the year.
Anthony Davis (24 pts, 12 reb, 3 blk) and LeBron James (19 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast) both did what they had to before earning an extended rest in the final frame.
Austin Reaves (16 pts, 7 ast, 4/5 3P) enjoyed an efficient night shooting whilst Taurean Prince (14 pts, 6 reb, 4/6 3P) added a nice spark off the bench.
The Lakers weathered a hot Thunder start to snare a halftime lead before coming up with a third quarter in which they outscored the visitors 37-29.
The tide turned early in the second quarter when the Thunder went nearly five minutes without a scratch and allowed LA to build an eight-point lead after trailing by a dozen early on.
The Lakers finished +22 on the glass and +12 in the paint whilst restricting the Thunder to sub-40% from the floor.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl) led the way for the Thunder with Jalen Williams (7 pts, 2/9 FG) struggling through his second-lowest scoring outburst of the season.
The Thunder are back in action in Portland on Thursday whilst the Lakers are at home against the Kings the same day.
