Davis, Russell, Defense Dominate as Lakers Blow Out Thunder 116-102

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

For about six minutes Monday night at the Crypt, it looked like the Lakers were in a world of trouble, hosting the West-best Oklahoma City Thunder. But then they stopped turning the ball over (or at least not as much), started hitting some shots, moving the ball, and most importantly, playing some high level defense.

By the 1:32 mark of the first quarter, the game was tied, and from there the Lakers never trailed. By halftime, they were up nine. After the break, they won the third quarter by eight, and at one point in the fourth led by 25.

Anthony Davis bounced back with a dominant game inside, against a team that has struggled to contain him all year. But much of LA's offensive production seemed to come from crazy stuff happening, and the Davis managing to clean it up underneath. He finished with 24 points, including 11 trips to the line, plus 12 rebounds and three blocks. D'Angelo Russell had five 3-pointers, Austin Reaves had four in five tries, and played some very impressive defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. LeBron James had 11 rebounds and eight assists. And finally some bench production again, as Taurean Prince chipped in with 14.

But the story of this one was defense. The Lakers held the Thunder to under 40% from the floor, and even if OKC was missing some chippies, overall the Lakers really elevated what they were doing, and put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Thunder after those first few minutes.

This was a very meaningful win for the Lakers, who need to rack up some wins against the league's best teams if they want to move up in the West. And, to be honest, they probably need these wins to keep showing themselves what's still possible this year.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Slow start, strong finish as the Lakers knock off OKC.

SEGMENT 2: Anthony Davis bounces back big, plays a very physical game Monday night.

SEGMENT 3: The defense steps up.

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