OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers had equity, earning it in a dominant win Sunday afternoon against the best team in the West.
They had reasons to punt on Tuesday’s rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder, namely a game on Wednesday in Dallas and a schedule that demanded they win just two more times to secure the third seed in their conference, putting them in strong position for a deep playoff run.
And, Monday when they issued an injury report with the bulk of their rotation listed as “questionable,” it sure seemed like the Lakers were going to let big-picture thinking get in the way of the game in front of them.
But the message from JJ Redick was clear.
“We can control whether or not we get the [No. 3] seed and we’ve got four chances to get two wins,” the Lakers coach said before the game. “I’d like to win them all. So yeah, that’s the thought.”
The Lakers played hard, they played with passion. They made mistakes and turned the ball over but they fought. They and the Thunder delivered on the kind of big-game intensity you’d want when two of the NBA’s top teams meet in April.
And then Luka Doncic got ejected.
Official J.T. Orr ejected Doncic, who already had been called for a technical foul in the second half, after Doncic scored to put the Lakers up in the fourth and yelled in Orr’s direction.
The Lakers and Doncic argued that he was yelling at a courtside fan but it didn’t matter. His night was done.
And essentially so were the Lakers, headed to a 136-120 loss and forced to settle for a split.
The Thunder outscored them by 17 in the 7 minutes 40 seconds after Doncic got ejected. One possession after Doncic was thrown out of the game, Jarred Vanderbilt was called for a technical foul after blocking Alex Caruso’s shot at the rim.
LeBron James finished with 28 points, Austin Reaves had 24 and Doncic had 23.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 42 points, the Thunder turning the Lakers’ 19 turnovers into 29 points.
The Lakers play Doncic’s former team, the Mavericks, on Wednesday in Dallas.
