On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers were taught a little lesson by the defending NBA champions. In the 92:121 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team from the City of Angels was shown its limits in the first half. The fact that OKC was so superior doesn’t give Luka Doncic a headache.
“That was definitely not our best game. Probably one of the worst this season,” said the 26-year-old after his team’s performance at the Paycom Center. However, he also highlighted the quality of the opponent: “They did a great job. I think they all defended me really well. They are champions for a reason, they showed that today.”
OKC held the Slovenians to their season-low 19 points. There were also 7 assists and 7 rebounds. Doncic shot just 7/20 from the field and just 1/7 from downtown. In 33 minutes on the court, the superstar was also responsible for 4 turnovers.
OKC swat “a big motivation” for the Lakers
The Lakers were already 30 points behind at halftime. Doncic had never experienced such a deficit after two quarters in his eight years in the best basketball league in the world.
“That’s no reason to worry,” said the guard, referring to the clear difference in performance: “I think it’s more of a big motivation. They were champions for a good reason, and that’s a big motivation. In my opinion, they started the year even better than last season. It’s a big motivation for us to stop them.”
The Lakers (8-4) slipped to fifth place in the Western Conference with their second loss in their last three games. OKC leads the West with 12 wins and just one loss, followed by the Denver Nuggets (9-2).