The logic inside some corners of the Lakers locker room a season ago was that the best path to the NBA Finals wouldn’t run through Denver, but instead it would go through Oklahoma City — the team tied with the Nuggets for the West’s best record.
Denver was too big, too physical and had, the logic said, dominated the Lakers. And the Thunder had not.
The Lakers had won three in a row against Oklahoma City, staring down their youth, speed and athleticism with wisdom and force. It gave them an edge, and, internally, the belief that if they met, they were the tougher team.
A lot can change in a season.
Friday in the final game of their NBA Cup pool play, the Lakers hosted the Thunder and felt Oklahoma City’s newfound force, a bruising 99-93 loss that left the Lakers beaten up and, almost certainly out of the tournament’s next stage.
Cup play and final tiebreak scenarios will be completed next week, but with two losses and negative point differential, the chances are slim.
The Lakers found out Friday that when you absorb so much physicality, there’s a mental cost to be paid.
Max Christie fouled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive to the basket, grabbing him like the Lakers had a foul to give in the final 24 seconds. They did not, and Gilgeous-Alexander sank a pair of free throws to put Oklahoma City ahead
After a timeout, the Lakers couldn’t get the ball in bounds, Austin Reaves’ pass getting intercepted by Jaylen Williams, leading to a dunk.
It was the Lakers’ 17th turnover of the game, leading to 20 Thunder points — the mental mistakes a result of atigue and the Thunder’s smothering defense. Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 36 points and nine assists.
Reaves, who played every game a season ago and who has yet to miss one this year, pulled himself out of the game in the first half Friday after a foul while driving to the basket led to a scary fall.
As Reaves jumped from the baseline and tried to lay the ball in, he got sandwiched in between Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, landing flatly on his back. He writhed in pain for most of a timeout, before staying in the game to make a pair of free throws. Minutes later, he pointed to the Lakers bench and went straight to the locker room.
He returned midway through the third quarter, but he was clearly limited.
LeBron James leapt to keep a bad pass from being a turnover, tipping it to Dalton Knecht for a three, only to be flattened during a collision on the play and slow to get up.
Knecht led the Lakers with 20 points and D’Angelo Russell had 17, but the Lakers’ stars, James and Anthony Davis, scored just 27 points combined.
The Lakers head back on the road for a four-game road trip beginning Sunday in Utah.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
