Led by masterclasses from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a starting lineup shake-up, and the power of desperation, the Los Angeles Lakers (15-14) snapped their four-game skid with an impressive 129-120 win over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-9) at the Paycom Center on Saturday night.

AD labeled the OKC matchup as a “must-win.” (LeBron retroactively concurred). The Lakers played like it. Davis insisted on playing the entire second half, per Darvin Ham, He posted 26 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and one shush of the crowd after a momentum-halting fourth-quarter jumper.

 

That jumper provided the Lakers' only non-LeBron points during a critical stretch that permanently quieted the rolling Thunder. OKC trimmed LA's lead from 26 to nine when LeBron scored 15 points in four minutes. He remains the most reliable closer in the sport.

LeBron, who turns 39 years old on Dec. 30, finished with a season-high 40 points (his 75th career 40-point game) on 13-of-20 shooting. He made all five of his 3s and all nine of his free throws. He added seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and two steals in 37 minutes.

“We was desperate for a win tonight,” he said about his 40-piece. “Desperate times called for desperate measures.”

Searching for a spark, and facing a poor rebounding team, Ham announced before tip-off that D'Angelo Russell would be replaced in the starting lineup by Jarred Vanderbilt. It marked the second time DLo has come off the bench for the Lakers (Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals). It was the first start of 2023-24 for Vando — fixture last season. The defensive-minded group surrendered 37 points in the opening period — OKC made six 3s — but locked it down for the next two quarters. Vando, in particular, was outstanding.

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“Having that size and physicality out there, being able to switch on pick-and-rolls, 1 through 5, was really, really really good,” said Ham. “They got extremely hot in that first quarter … We weathered that storm and bounced back with a great defensive quarter and we buckled down and set a tone for the rest of the game.”

Bringing three of the team's best (and highest-paid) players on the second unit helped the Lakers sustain momentum. Russell saw 17 minutes — second-fewest — but contributed 15 important points. Hachimura (21 points, 8-of-14 FG) was in constant attack mode. Reaves had 11 points and nine assists.

“Huge,” Russell said about the impact that potential second unit possesses. “Any aspect of the game that's kind of lacking through those runs before we get on the floor, I think we make up for it when coach does those subs with that group. It's exciting to see what we do from it.”

Even if the extra-big starting unit proves to be a short-term solution, the Lakers needed to bully their way back into the win column. If, for nothing else, to change the energy in the room. The Lakers have been increasingly irksome about fatigue and lineup inconsistency as the losses mounted post-In-Season Tournament.

In OKC, the Lakers played with purpose. Two-way verve. They dished a season-high 37 assists against nine turnovers. They seemed back to having “fun.”

“The only ways you can get assists are if your teammates are making shots — so everyone was making shots,” said LeBron. “When everyone was passing the ball, we were trying to keep it on time, on target and not turn the ball over. And that was the key to it.”

Now, we'll see if they can carry those merry vibes into Christmas Day — when the top-seeded Boston Celtics come to (down)town Los Angeles.