LOS ANGELES — The Lakers entered Friday knowing the results of their home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder wouldn’t guarantee anything when it came to their hopes to contend for a second consecutive NBA Cup.
But Friday’s result, a 101-93 Thunder victory at Crypto.com Arena, sealed the Lakers’ fate.
With the defeat, the Lakers dropped to 11-8 on the season and 2-2 in Cup matchups in their four Group Play games, essentially eliminating them from contention for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The lone wild card spot in the Western Conference will very likely be a team that goes 3-1 (Oklahoma City, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas or Portland). Even in the extremely unlikely scenario that a slew of teams end up tied at 2-2, the Lakers would lose out on point differential (-24).
Rookie wing Dalton Knecht scored a team-high 20 points (6 for 12 from 3-point range) to go with six rebounds and four assists.
Anthony Davis finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots, but he only had 10 field goal attempts (making five) to go with 5-of-7 shooting from the free throw line.
D’Angelo Russell added 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals off the bench.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a pull-up 3-pointer over Max Christie’s outstretched right arm to put the Thunder ahead 95-91 with 1:35 remaining.
LeBron James (12 points, eight rebounds and six assists but five turnovers) tried responding with his own 3-pointer but missed.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed a pull-up 3-point attempt on the Thunder’s ensuing possession, with James assisting Christie on a turnaround jumper with 40 seconds left that cut the Lakers’ deficit to 95-93.
Seemingly not knowing the Lakers didn’t have a foul to give late, Christie intentionally fouled Gilgeous-Alexander, who knocked down a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to give the Thunder a 97-93 advantage.
Austin Reaves (11 points on 3-of-11 shooting) turned the ball over on the Lakers’ ensuing possession, leading to a Jalen Williams (19 points) dunk to seal the win for the Thunder (15-4; 2-1 in Cup Play).
Reaves took a hard fall after getting fouled by Gilgeous-Alexander late in the second quarter.
He laid on the court for a few minutes before walking back to the bench under his own power, knocking down a pair of free throws after the stoppage.
He tried to stay in the game but asked to be subbed out a minute later, heading directly to the team’s locker room and not coming out with the rest of the team after halftime before rejoining the team midway through the third.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
More to come on this story.
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