LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis stood alongside three Oklahoma City Thunder players, jockeying for position under the basket as Austin Reaves’ 3-pointer from the right corner launched into the air. Brushed Davis Josh Giddey sideways and, as the ball spun around the edge, jumped into Chet Holmgrendislodging the 7-foot-1, 208-pound rookie center.
Having gained the inside position, Davis quickly brought the ball down and exploded for an uncontested dunk as every Thunder defender watched helplessly. He hung on the edge for an extra half-second, emphasizing the power of the display.
That sequence, among many that defined the Lakers’ 116-104 win over the Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on Monday, has become commonplace when these teams face each other this season. THE Lakers (34-29) remain in ninth place in the West, even after their 10th victory in their last 14 games. But they are 3-1 against the Thunder (42-19) this season, with Davis and LeBron James force his way inside with the undersized Thunder core. THERE‘s style of play directly clashes with OKC’s five-out, small-ball system, and the Lakers have overwhelmed the Thunder with rim pressure, rebounds and free throws every time they have played this season.
The Lakers wouldn’t go so far as to say they would welcome a potential playoff series with Oklahoma City, but they have made it clear they are increasingly confident in their chances of making another deep playoff run considering of their head-to-head results. against the Thunder and most of the rest of the conference, Denver being an obvious exception.
“It’s about us, of course,” Davis said. “I’m about to go in.” We’re a little behind on the eight ball, but we’re there. In case we don’t get the top six, you will have to start the whole play-in process again. We don’t really care which seed we belong to. We proved it last year. It does not matter.
“The playoffs are a different animal. … For us, it’s just about coming in and taking on every opponent from there.
Davis finished Monday with 24 points, 12 rebounds (four offensive), one steal and three blocks. D’Angelo Russell had 26 points and five 3s, including three in a row in the fourth quarter as the Lakers put the game out of reach. James added 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Reaves had 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Davis was able to rest for the entire fourth quarter, while James sat out the final six minutes. It was another impressive offensive display from the Lakers’ starting lineup, who are now 9-2 entering games together this season.
But the Lakers won on defense, something they haven’t done much of lately. They held the Thunder to 104 points, the fewest points the Lakers have given up since allowing 103 points in a win over the LA Clippers on January 7.
OKC took 13-2 and 20-8 leads early before the Lakers closed the first half on a 44-23 run to take a 52-43 halftime lead. During that stretch, the Thunder missed 19 of 21 shots, allowing the Lakers to take the lead despite 12 turnovers in the first half. The Thunder, who were back to back after a close victory in Phoenixhit a season low of 30.6 percent in the first half.
“I told them at halftime that was the best defensive half I’ve seen all season,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “Exactly the way we fought to keep the ball in front of us, our changes of activity behind the initial defender, the help at the rim, the good bounce of the ball. … Our defense, man, shout out to our guys. They really stepped up and defended really well.
Ham said the Lakers spent much of their shooting fine-tuning their defensive approach against the Thunder. In particular, they focused on showing off their hands when defending the MVP candidate. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to try to limit his free throws. Gilgeous-Alexander entered the game averaging 8.9 attempts per game, the third-highest number in the league. He went 9-for-9 on Monday, but only three of those attempts came in the second half.
Los Angeles used Reaves as the primary defender against Gilgeous-Alexander with the starting unit. For the most part, Reaves did an impressive job of keeping Gilgeous-Alexander in front of him, forcing the Thunder star into difficult, contested jump shots like the one below in the first quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander is capable of making these shots, but the Lakers can ultimately live with them.
“(Reaves) did a great job,” Davis said. “Moving his feet knowing that Shai likes to get to his reverse-between, kind of like a little push, and get to his middle or get to the lane and use his pump fakes and cause fouls and things like that. … So he did a great job of starting by making it difficult for him and funneling it to our defense and putting on some great contests.
Reaves was just as effective when forced to step aside from Gilgeous-Alexander after helping elsewhere, a situation Gilgeous-Alexander tends to punish. On this play, Reaves stayed back, kept his feet ready and his arms above his waist before putting his hand in front of Gilgeous-Alexander’s face during the shot, a tactic popularized by the former Rockets And Heat winger Shane Battier.
“(Reaves) just rose to the challenge,” James added. “Obviously Shai is one of the best players we have in our league, so we just try not to put him at the free throw line because that’s where he gets a lot of the his points. So I thought Austin was sensational from start to finish.
James did his part in being disruptive by serving as a low man in the Lakers’ help defense, which is their most effective half-court defensive position. He sent a lob to Holmgren and was generally in the right spots to keep the Thunder from scoring at the rim, taking advantage of his anticipation and athleticism.
“Just the reads he makes,” Ham said of James’ defense. “It’s a bigger body that stays low. They try to throw a lob, he comes in, MIG (the most important guy), disrupts their lob. His closeouts to keep the ball in front and create indecision in some guys were great. He’s one of the best when he’s engaged like that. His instincts and communication are essential. It gives everyone confidence.
All the while, Davis dominated the one-on-one with Holmgren, which he did in three of the four matches. Davis is simply too big, too strong and too smart for the Thunder’s 21-year-old rookie big man. There are times when he looks like the max version of Shaquille O’Neal against the Thunder’s small front line.
Davis played a crucial role in the Lakers’ rebound from Saturday’s disappointing performance against the Nuggets, especially on glass. Against Denver, the Lakers were overwhelmed 47-31. Against OKC, they outscored the Thunder 55-38 while controlling the paint the same way Denver so often does against them.
“We understand that time is of the essence,” Ham said. “And we have to be busy to do what we’re trying to do.” We did a great job turning the page after this loss. … They showed a lot of character in the way they responded.
Ham said there should be an update next week on injured rotation players Jared Vanderbilt (foot) and Gabe Vincent (knee). The Lakers could use both players’ defensive skills to ensure performances like Monday’s can be sustained against other contenders, not on the second night of a row.
Still, it’s become clear that the Lakers can more than hold their own against at least one of the top four Western players, and perhaps others as well. Denver may have the Lakers’ number, but Los Angeles is 3-1 against the Thunder and 3-1 against the fourth-place LA Clippers. The Lakers are 0-2 against first place Timber wolvesbut didn’t have James for one of those losses and lost the other controversially. The Lakers face them twice at home in the final sequence. That’s motivation enough for a group that’s just trying to make the playoffs any way it can.
Next up is a crucial match with the Kings of Sacramento, one of the Lakers’ most important remaining games this season. The Lakers are just 1.5 games behind the Kings (34-26) in the standings, although technically three back in the loss column. But with two matchups, one at home and one on the road, against them next week, the Lakers have the opportunity to dictate their destiny.
“It’s a very important game,” Davis said. “We’re playing them twice over the next week. It’s going to be a big game and next week’s game will be a big game. We need to go in and take care of business.
(Top photo: Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today)
