NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points as Oklahoma City Thunder come from behind to beat the Los Angeles Lakers
In a Western Conference match-up of immense interest, the Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Los Angles were again missing their star player LeBron James due to a groin injury, and had an uphill battle to beat the Thunder without his services.
And that was how it proved to be, as the final scoreline read 107-100 in favor of the Thunder in what was a very convincing comeback win for them.
With this result the Thunder have now won 3 of their last 5 matches and are ranked 3rd in the West with a record of 24-13. On the other hand, the Lakers have taken a major slump since LeBron's injury and have lost 3 of their last 5 matches, which has reduced their ranking to 8th in the West. They're barely hanging on that spot and will need LeBron back quickly.
With all that in mind, here are the top 3 talking points from the game -
#3 Shooting struggles for both teams
This was a very heavy offensive game for both the teams as they struggled throughout with their shots and didn't seem to find a way to get the flow of things. While the Thunder shot only 38%, the Lakers shot at an efficiency of just 41.6%.
Moreover, they were shooting bricks from the 3-point line as well. Oklahoma shot 22%, while the Lakers shot at an efficiency of 25.9% from behind the arc.
More than shooting, this game was about grit and hustle. Whichever team would put in more effort and put more bodies on the line would win. And that's exactly what the Thunder did.
They made crucial plays at crucial times and made sure that they never gave the Lakers a chance to get the win.