{"id":595620,"date":"2026-02-11T00:22:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/595620\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T00:22:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:22:24","slug":"thunder-vs-lakers-is-119-110-los-angeles-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/595620\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder vs Lakers is 119-110 Los Angeles loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Regardless of what came beforehand or what\u2019ll come afterwards \u2014 and the Lakers didn\u2019t have much time to dwell on Monday\u2019s loss<\/a> to the Thunder since they host the Spurs<\/a> Tuesday night \u2014 a matchup against the defending NBA champions will always be a measuring stick game in their quest to contend for a title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their blowout victory and narrow defeat in back-to-back games to the Thunder last April showed they had what it took to compete with, and beat, anyone when they\u2019re focused because of their high-end talent.<\/p>\n

The blowout defeat earlier this season in November in Oklahoma City, with the Lakers missing LeBron James but the Thunder being without Jalen Williams, showed the Lakers, at the time, they lacked the requisite physicality and energy to compete with a team on the Thunder\u2019s level.<\/p>\n

\"LeBron\u201cWe can\u2019t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can.\u201d Lebron James said in reference to the Lakers loss to OKC. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

What lesson came from Monday\u2019s defeat, which came with the Lakers being without Luka Doncic but the Thunder being without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a championship team right there,\u201d James said. <\/a>\u201cWe\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A strong statement from James, especially considering he was asked what he saw the biggest gaps were between his team and the Thunder.<\/p>\n

He elaborated on his sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can,\u201d James said. \u201cThat\u2019s why they won the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers had the energy to take an eight-point lead in the third against the Thunder after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second.<\/p>\n

But not enough to grab crucial late rebounds, with the Thunder scoring 11 second-chance points off four offensive rebounds in the fourth.<\/p>\n

Or stick with their basic defensive principles.<\/p>\n

Or execute their offense as desired in the ways that helped them stay in the game, and at one point have an advantage, in the first place.<\/p>\n

\"LeBronLos Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Austin Reaves (15) celebrate a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you play the best teams, and Oklahoma City is clearly the best team, you have to have a really high level of effort, and you have to have a really high level of execution; it\u2019s got to be both,\u201d coach JJ Redick said. \u201cFor the most part, our effort was fantastic, and then key stretches of the game, our execution wasn\u2019t great. A lot of that for me was just our defensively, our basic shell principles. To start the fourth, I didn\u2019t think we did a good job of getting LeBron the ball. Some of that was we called plays and we didn\u2019t execute. Some of that was just not having the recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Maybe the Thunder\u2019s physicality eventually wore the Lakers down. Multiple Lakers players were visibly exhausted in the locker room after Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

When fatigue factors in, the true character of a team can show.<\/p>\n

And what Monday showed is there are gaps \u2013 even small ones that they\u2019ve narrowed since the fall \u2013 that separate the Lakers from being a true contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we have a little ways to go, but we\u2019re on the right track,\u201d Marcus Smart said. \u201cThe way we fought, our sense of urgency, all the way up to the last five minutes, we were playing great basketball on both ends of the floor. A good measuring stick for us. I think we\u2019re in the right spot. We just gotta clean up some things. I think we\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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