Thunder Stumbles Late Versus Lakers, Drops Fourth Straight

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost its fourth straight today, as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 108-104 victory at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The loss moves the Thunder to 30-24 on the season.

The Lakers led by 10 with 2:30 remaining, using a poor shooting quarter from the Thunder to take a commanding lead. OKC used a frantic 9-2 run to draw within three points with less than 30 seconds to go, but the comeback was ultimately too little, too late.

Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder with 36 points and 9 assists, and Paul George added 26 points and 7 rebounds. Six Lakers scored in double-figures to pace a balanced effort that made Oklahoma City 1-4 since losing Andre Roberson for the season.

Full Highlights:

Back in action on Tuesday night in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors. *gulp*

Numbers

48.8: The Lakers shot 48.8 percent from the floor, compared to 44.9 percent for OKC.

43.3: Making matters worse, the Lakers hit 13/30 (43.3 percent) from downtown, with the Thunder making 7/25 (28 percent).

68: The Thunder made 17/25 (68 percent) from the free throw line. The struggles continue.

17: Just 17 assists for OKC. LA had 24.

46-40: The Thunder won 46-40 on the boards, including 13-8 on the offensive glass.

18: The Thunder turned the ball over 18 times and resulted in 20 points for LA.

21-8: OKC won the transition battle 21-8.

14 & 8: There were 14 lead changes and eight ties.

Westbrook & George

Russell Westbrook and Paul George were both good against the Lakers. Their final lines:

Westbrook: 36 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast, 7 TO, 15/25 FG, -10

George: 26 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl, 10/19 FG, 3/6 3P, +3

The duo combined for 62 points on 25/44 (56.8) percent shooting. The rest of the team scored 42 points on 15/45 (33.3 percent) from the field.

Notes

Carmelo Anthony. Melo continued a recent stretch of poor play, contributing 10 points and 13 rebounds on 3/13 shooting. He’s now 21/62 (33.8 percent) from the floor over the four-game losing streak and playing some of the worst basketball of his career. A demotion, or at least a decrease in minutes, makes a lot of sense right now.

Steven Adams. Steven Adams had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals in 38 minutes of action. He was able to gather just two offensive rebounds and watched as Brook Lopez went for 20 points.

The Other Guys. Six Lakers reached double-figures in scoring: Lopez (20), Julius Randle (19), Jordan Clarkson (18), Brandon Ingram (16), Josh Hart (14), and Kentavius Caldwell-Cope (13).

Russell Westbrook discusses the four-game losing streak. Via Royce Young.

Russell Westbrook the four-game losing streak: “We never flinch, based on what’s going on. We always stay together.” pic.twitter.com/pph4EY5RZs