OKLAHOMA CITY — Before facing the Los Angeles Lakers in a rare two-game mini-series at the tail end of the regular season, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reminded reporters of the fundamental element of facing a potential playoff matchup.

For Daigneault, it's less of an opportunity for the Thunder to gain an advantage while facing Luka Doncic and the Lakers for the first time since his shocking trade in January.

Still, the Lakers made an emphatic statement, crushing the Thunder 126-99 in their first of two matchups at the Paycom Center this week. After the loss, Daigneault addressed how Oklahoma City spent the afternoon trailing its opponent by double figures throughout most of the game's 48 minutes.

“I thought they were the more forceful, focused team,” Daigneault said. “I thought our attacks early were pretty good offensively, but certainly, they were super sharp and ready to play, and they played all 48 minutes.

“They did a really good job, obviously beat us box to wire. So a good lesson for us; things we can look at, and learn from, but credit them. They were the much better team today.”

Regarding the game's fundamentals, Daigneault says the Thunder were lacking.

“I thought fundamentally today, we just weren't nearly as sharp as we needed to be,” Daigneault added. “And that's the lesson more so than the schemes.”

Coming off of Friday's loss to the Rockets, it's only the second time the Thunder has surrendered two straight losses this season. They haven't lost three straight all season.

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Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault yells to his team during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault stressed the importance of fundamentals after Friday's Rockets loss. He reiterated this point during his pregame and postgame media availability. However, Daigneault also addressed the Lakers' scorching-hot shooting throughout the first half, which put the Thunder in a steep hole to climb out of after halftime.

“They were 10-for-12 in their first 12 threes [attempts], and they were hot in the first half,” Daigneault said. “If you leave someone alone in the gym, they usually don't shoot that well from three. So there's a shot-making element.

“But I also think there's a focus element that we were lacking in the game. They made some shots in the first half, but there's also stuff that we definitely could have controlled that we didn't. And that definitely had an influence as well.”

The Thunder will look to bounce back in their rematch against the Lakers on Tuesday.