Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a clinic Tuesday night, dropping 25 points in just 28 minutes of action as his team crushed the Los Angeles Lakers 123-87 in a lopsided affair at Crypto.com Arena.
The victory marked Oklahoma City’s sixth straight win and their 18th triumph in 19 contests, improving their record to 63-16. With the dominant performance, the Thunder moved to within one victory or a single San Antonio Spurs defeat of securing the Western Conference’s top seed for a third straight year.
Los Angeles entered the contest severely undermanned, missing stars LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic from their lineup. Despite the absences, the Lakers (50-29) managed to stay competitive through the opening quarter and into the second period.
The competitive start stood in stark contrast to Thursday’s embarrassing 43-point defeat the Lakers suffered in Oklahoma City, when their full roster was available and they fell behind by 23 points after just one quarter.
Tuesday’s contest saw Los Angeles fight back from an early seven-point hole to even the score in the second quarter’s opening minutes.
But Oklahoma City seized control permanently with a devastating 23-5 scoring surge over the final 7 minutes and 16 seconds of the first half.
The Lakers managed just 33.3% shooting from the field during that crucial second quarter collapse.
Gilgeous-Alexander established his dominance early, connecting on 4 of 5 shot attempts while tallying 11 points and distributing five assists in the first quarter alone.
By the third quarter’s early stages, the game’s outcome was essentially decided, leaving only the question of whether Gilgeous-Alexander would maintain his NBA record streak of consecutive games with at least 20 points.
He moved within one point of that milestone with a three-pointer nearly seven minutes into the third quarter, extending Oklahoma City’s advantage to 27 points.
Approximately two minutes later, Gilgeous-Alexander capped his evening with a flourish, scoring on three consecutive Thunder possessions before calling it a night.
The star guard exited the contest with over a minute left in the third quarter, marking the 25th occasion this season he’s been able to rest during the entire fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander concluded his efficient evening shooting 10 of 15 from the floor while adding eight assists and two steals.
Supporting cast members stepped up for Oklahoma City, with Chet Holmgren contributing 15 points and 10 rebounds. Bench contributors Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain chipped in 18 and 15 points respectively.
Joe proved particularly effective from long range, connecting on 6 of 9 three-point attempts. Over his last three games, he’s shot an impressive 14 of 21 from beyond the arc.
The defeat dropped Los Angeles one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference’s third seed, extending their losing streak to three games.
Rui Hachimura paced the Lakers’ scoring with 15 points on efficient 7-of-10 shooting. No other Los Angeles player managed more than 11 points in the lopsided loss.
