With each team missing top scorer, Thunder push past Lakers
Jalen Williams scored 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 19 as the Oklahoma City Thunder ended a two-game losing streak with a 119-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in a game where both teams were missing an All-Star.
Alex Caruso put up 17 points and Chet Holmgren totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) for the third consecutive game. Gilgeous-Alexander will be replaced in the All-Star Game on Sunday by the Houston Rockets' Alperen Sengun.
Oklahoma City rallied from an eight-point deficit in the third quarter to avoid a season-high third consecutive defeat.
LeBron James scored 22 points and dished 10 assists while Marcus Smart added 19 points for the Lakers, who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end. Los Angeles was without Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) for the second consecutive game.
Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Jake LaRavia added 14 for Los Angeles, which is 0-2 against Oklahoma City this season with the teams set to meet two more times late in the regular season.
Doncic (32.8 points per game) and Gilgeous-Alexander (31.8 ppg) are the NBA's top two scorers.
The Thunder trailed 99-98 before an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk with 7:08 left sparked an 11-2 run for a 109-101 lead following a 3-pointer from Williams with 3:05 on the clock.
James pulled the Lakers within 111-108 on a dunk with 1:43 left before an offensive rebound and follow-up dunk by Holmgren with 1:17 remaining put the Thunder up by five.
James missed a 3-point attempt with 40.7 seconds remaining, and Williams sealed the victory for the Thunder on two free throws for a 117-110 lead with 35.9 seconds left.
Oklahoma City led by as many 11 points in the third quarter before Los Angeles went on a 22-3 run to take an 85-77 lead with 5:09 remaining in the period. The Thunder changed the momentum and took a 93-91 lead into the fourth after a late Caruso 3-pointer.
The Thunder led by 14 points in the first half and were up 67-58 at halftime. Joe had 16 points for Oklahoma City in the first half, while Reaves had 12 for the Lakers.