The Jordan Clarkson-less Los Angeles Lakers made quick work of the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, who suited up without Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony for the night.
The young hosts easily secured a 25-point win despite Paul George's game-high 29 points, as Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma had strong nights to give the Lakers an early and steady lead.
George praised the two young players following the game.
“They played their game, they stuck within their lines,” said George, according to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints. “They’re a young team. They’re going to make mistakes, they’re allowed to make mistakes at this point, but they’re confident.”
“At the end of the day, that’s what you want, that they’re confident, so they played well tonight.”
Ingram shot a cool 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the 3-point line for his 19 points, aided by Kuzma's 16 points and nine rebounds coming off the bench.
The Lakers outscored the Thunder in every quarter, but they were especially impressive on defense, holding the Thunder to 20 or fewer points in the last three-quarters of the game after an incandescent George cooled off from a 6-of-7 shooting from the field in the first quarter — likely keen to the hometown rims.
Los Angeles has now strung a four-game winning streak for the third time in a row and have now won 12 of their last 16 games in quite an impressive fashion.
They'll have a chance to extend this streak to the longest of the season on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
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