Thursday was nothing but nightmarish for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they suffered a beatdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center and lost Luka Doncic to a hamstring injury.
The Lakers had no answer for the Thunder, who ran away with the 43-point win, 139-96. The defending champions started like a house on fire, outscoring Los Angeles, 44-21, in the first quarter. Oklahoma City never looked back, snapping the Lakers' four-game winning streak and improving to 61-16, including 33-7 at home.
The Purple and Gold came close to surpassing their worst loss in team history: A 49-point defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in 2017.
After the game, LeBron James and Austin Reaves had a similar comment about their embarrassing evening, as reported by OC Register's Benjamin Royer.
“LeBron James and Austin Reaves put it the same way about OKC: ‘They beat the s*** out of us,'” wrote Royer on X.
Reaves had 15 points, four rebounds, and four turnovers, while James tallied 13 points, six rebounds, and two turnovers.
Doncic, who exited in the third quarter, finished with 12 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and six turnovers.
The Lakers shot 43% from the field and were outrebounded, 50-38. They had 18 errors, which the Thunder converted to 24 points. Oklahoma City also had an 18-point edge in fastbreak points.
The Thunder, who notched their fourth straight victory, led by as much as 46 points.
James, meanwhile, expressed his concern regarding Doncic's hamstring injury.
“At this point, at this juncture of the season, it's the last thing you want to see, especially anybody on our team,” said the four-time champion, as quoted by Royer.
The Lakers will return to action on Sunday against the Mavericks.
