Lakers collapse against Thunder; Westbrook ejected after sloppy night

OKLAHOMA CITY — He’d been 1 assistance distant before, but connected Wednesday night, it happened: Russell Westbrook got his archetypal triple-double arsenic a Laker.

But the 32-year-old prima – and his squad – got a batch much than they bargained for successful a melodramatic illness against the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-115, aft getting 3 attempts astatine a imaginable game-tying changeable successful the past 30 seconds.

Westbrook besides got his archetypal quadruple-double arsenic a Laker, adding 10 turnovers to his stat enactment of 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. It was Westbrook’s sixth vocation triple-double successful which helium besides recorded 10 oregon much turnovers – a statistic that doesn’t rather seizure the affectional highs and lows of his unsocial benignant arsenic overmuch arsenic Wednesday’s roller-coaster of a crippled did.

The giveaways were errors of tiny margins, but besides ample ones – much than once, Westbrook sprayed a walk to nary 1 successful particular, with the Thunder defence acceptable to pounce. He besides struggled to get to the rim. After taking 18 shots successful the overgarment against San Antonio connected Tuesday, helium was mostly iced retired from close-range attempts against the Thunder.

Anthony Davis led the squad with 30 points, 17 during a archetypal fractional erstwhile the Lakers (2-3) utilized a accelerated commencement to unfastened a 26-point lead. But they changeable little than 38% successful the 2nd and became the archetypal Laker squad successful the past 25 years to suffer a crippled they led by astatine slightest 25 points.

LeBron James sat retired his 2nd consecutive crippled with a sore ankle, and it was achy to see however helium mightiness person stemmed the bleeding.

All told, the Thunder outscored the Lakers 104-74 successful the last 3 frames aft the visitors enactment a 41-19 pounding connected them successful the archetypal quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the caller Oklahoma City prima post-Westbrook, scored 27 points to pb 5 Thunder players successful treble figures.

Even so, the Lakers had plentifulness of chances to astatine slightest propulsion adjacent – three, to beryllium exact. Westbrook clanked 1 with 30 seconds left, but past the Lakers forced a turnover connected an eight-second violation. Malik Monk took a step-back 3-pointer, but wholly missed the rim. When that seemed to beryllium the last word, Carmelo Anthony came up with a occurrence bargain successful the past 10 seconds … and missed again.

The adjacent idiosyncratic to get a changeable was the OKC’s Lugentz Dort, astatine the free-throw line. He buried a brace to seal the upset. But conscionable for emphasis, Darius Bazley stole the ensuing inbounds walk and hammered location a dunk.

That was erstwhile Westbrook decided helium was done, drafting his 2nd method foul and heading to the locker country aboriginal connected an evening that portended a rousing instrumentality to the metropolis wherever helium spent 11 memorable seasons.

Remarkable numbers were embedded successful the Thunder’s 41-23 third-quarter rally. Oklahoma City’s archetypal 3 games saw them sprout 1 of the league’s worst 3-point marks, but they were 8 for 12 from region successful the 3rd 4th alone. The Lakers and Thunder gave up the aforesaid fig of turnovers (five) but OKC managed 12 points disconnected those giveaways. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 of his team-high 27 points successful the period.

The exclamation constituent was adjacent much dazzling: Gilgeous-Alexander banked successful a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that had the arena celebrating arsenic if it were a game-winner.

The Lakers seemed to instrumentality it arsenic specified too, weakly offering up leap shots alternatively of crisply tally offense. The assertive drives of 1 nighttime earlier were each but forgotten – overmuch little the feel-good lob accumulation that started the evening.

In Westbrook’s heyday, the arena would beryllium packed with Oklahoma bluish and orange, screaming full-throated for his charging entranceway onto the floor. The Laker roadworthy instrumentality acquisition is inactive caller to him: As Westbrook joked connected Tuesday night, his location arena is the lone spot wherever helium could expect to perceive cheers erstwhile helium played for Oklahoma City.

Surely immoderate blue-clad fans successful Wednesday’s sparse assemblage cheered Westbrook, but determination were plentifulness of purple-and-gold jerseys mixed successful arsenic well. The arena inactive honors the contented of lasting astatine attraction until the location squad scores the archetypal handbasket – this time, they waited for 2½ minutes earlier a Darius Bazley 3-pointer gave them a small relief.

But a nighttime removed from their up-tempo way conscionable from the Spurs, the Lakers easy outpaced their hosts successful the archetypal quarter, punching up a double-digit pb halfway done the archetypal quarter. Davis had been successful uncertainty for the lineup aft knocking knees the nighttime before, but the All-Star large antheral mightiness arsenic good person been executing his station moves against a drill cone – helium had 12 successful the archetypal play alone.

Not one, not two, but 3 Lakers had reverse alley-oop dunks successful the archetypal half, arsenic Davis, DeAndre Jordan and Malik Monk each yammed connected the rim without overmuch interference from the Thunder defense.

The aboriginal dominance made the autumn each the much jarring, and nary 1 appeared to consciousness that daze similar the Lakers themselves arsenic they trudged retired of the arena.

The Lakers instrumentality connected Cleveland connected Friday astatine home.

More to travel connected this story.