D’Angelo Russell on Monday scored 26 points as the Los Angeles Lakers produced a dominant defensive display to upset the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-104.
Russell and Anthony Davis (24) combined for 50 points, while LeBron James added 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in an ultimately comfortable win for the 17-time NBA champions.
Oklahoma City went into the game as leaders of the Western Conference, and they started smoothly, opening up a 12-point lead early in the first quarter.
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today
Yet some stubborn defending and Russell’s hot hand hauled the Lakers back into contention, and a big second-quarter — outscoring the Thunder 27-18 — gave them a lead they held for the remainder of the contest.
“Early on they made some shots and we turned the ball over, but we didn’t totally collapse,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “We continued to defend. I told the team at half-time: ‘That’s the best defensive half I’ve seen all season.’”
“Kudos to our guys — they stepped up and defended really, really well,” he added.
The Lakers defense restricted Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 20 points, while Chet Holmgren finished with 15 and Josh Giddey 13.
The defeat knocked Oklahoma City (42-19) out of top spot in the West, with the Minnesota Timberwolves taking first place.
The Lakers improved to 34-29 to sit in ninth.
Elsewhere, Damian Lillard produced a dazzling 41-point display as the Milwaukee Bucks shrugged off the injury absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-106.
With Antetokounmpo ruled out just before tip-off with a sore Achilles, and Khris Middleton also out injured, Lillard led from the front to help in-form Milwaukee claim a sixth straight victory.
The Clippers looked to have the measure of their opponents, opening up a 15-point lead at one stage in the third quarter.
However, Lillard and Bobby Portis caught fire in the fourth as the Bucks outscored the Clippers 40-25 to pull clear and seal the win before a fired-up Milwaukee crowd.
Lillard finished with four rebounds and four assists along with his 41 points, while Portis stepped up with 28 points and 16 rebounds.
Milwaukee improved to 41-21, leaving them second place in the Eastern Conference behind Boston (48-12).
“We’re just playing together on both sides of the ball,” Lillard said.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers accused some members of his team as being in holiday-mode prior to last month’s All-Star game mid-season break.
However, Lillard revealed the Bucks were now reaping the benefits from a clear-the-air meeting that has sparked the team’s unbeaten streak.
“Coming out of the break we had a big talk as a team, Doc addressed a lot of things, challenged us to do some things differently — and I think we embraced it as a team,” Lillard said.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS