LeBron James didn’t sugarcoat anything after the Lakers dropped a 119-110 loss to the Thunder, offering a blunt assessment of where the two franchises currently stand.
OKC played without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while the Lakers were without Luka Doncic and in the end, Oklahoma City’s energy and execution proved decisive, particularly late in the game.
The Thunder dominated the hustle areas, winning the rebounding battle 45-37, including 14-9 on the offensive glass, while also forcing turnovers that created a six-point advantage in points off mistakes.
James, who led Los Angeles with 22 points, admitted the closing stretch exposed the biggest difference between the teams.
“[They] made shots,” James said. “Mostly we got some really good looks in the fourth quarter, just wasn’t able to come through. They were able to make some, get some 50-50 balls, get some extra possessions. Yeah, sometimes it’s just make or miss, and they made more than we did in the fourth.”
The Thunder’s defensive pressure consistently disrupted the Lakers’ rhythm, something James credited to Oklahoma City’s perimeter depth and activity.
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not,” James told reporters. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
James highlighted several key defenders who dictated the pace of the game.
“They’re number one in defense, statistically, I would say after with a couple other teams,” James said. “But yeah, they put a lot of pressure, they got a lot of guys that can extend the defense, with Cason [Wallace] and obviously A.C. [Alex Caruso], [Luguentz] Dort and J-Dub [Jalen Williams] and a lot of those guys can really get to the ball and like push your offense out of the scoring area.
“I thought we did a decent job of trying to execute as well as we wanted to and we still, like I said, we had some great looks still, we had a lot of really, really good looks from 3-point line that didn’t go, some around the rim as well.”
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