3 takeaways from the OKC Thunder’s NBA Cup win over the Lakers

Oklahoma City continued its winning streak with its fourth straight win.

The Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 101-93 on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena and are 2-1 in NBA Cup group play. After losing the season series 3-1 to the Lakers last year, the Thunder won the first meeting this season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander starred for the Thunder with 36 points and nine assists. His 3-pointer with 1:35 left started a 9-2 run and helped Oklahoma City close out the game and another win on the road trip.

As usual, the Thunder’s defense was stifling, holding the Lakers to 28.9% shooting from distance and forcing 18 turnovers. They also disrupted the Lakers’ star duo, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis combining for just 27 points on 22 shots.

Let’s look at three lessons you can learn from yesterday’s game.

Gilgeous-Alexander was huge for the Thunder in Los Angeles with 36 points. Jalen Williams added 19 while Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein each scored in double figures. From then on, the contributions stop.

Aaron Wiggins’ seven points made him the Thunder’s leading bench scorer on a tough night for the unit. The bench scored 19 points on 7 of 26 shooting and never recorded an assist.

While the absence of Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso and Jaylin Williams is testing Oklahoma City’s depth, the team still needs much better performance from the bench. Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams scored more than half of the Thunder’s points on Friday, but that’s not a sustainable formula.

Oklahoma City needs more consistent play from Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe as these guys lead the supporting cast.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has pointed out the team’s free throw disparity after recent games and even before Friday’s game. In a halftime interview, he once again pointed out the disadvantage that the Thunder only had two attempts against the Lakers’ 12.

Gilgeous-Alexander was the primary contributor to Oklahoma City’s free throws this season and it stayed that way. He shot 7 of 8 from the foul line, accounting for the majority of the team’s makes and half of all attempts.

The Thunder made up some of the difference in the second half, shooting 14 free throws to the Lakers’ nine free throws. However, it wasn’t enough for Oklahoma City to emerge victorious from the free throw battle. The Thunder finished the season with fewer attempts at the finish line than their opponent for the 15th time after winning the battle in the first two games of this road trip.

Last season, the Thunder were confident from the 3-point line and shot a league-best 38.9% from beyond the arc. However, a difficult start this season has prevented them from securing this title again.

Considering Oklahoma City is about a quarter of the way through the season, things might not turn around. On Friday, Oklahoma City shot 13 of 40 from distance against the Lakers.

While the talent and shooting ability are there, the consistency is not. The Thunder made some timely jumps and hit momentum-changing 3-pointers, but this year hitting just 32.5% of their total seems to be the norm.

The Thunder stayed alive in the NBA Cup race with the win, but need help moving forward. They must beat the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, while they rely on the Phoenix Suns to beat the San Antonio Spurs. Although this is not the only way of thunder, it is the simplest.

Before the Thunder find out their NBA Cup fate on Tuesday, they cap off their road trip with a game in Houston on Sunday in their second meeting of the season with the Rockets.

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