National Basketball Association
L.A. Lakers 116, Oklahoma City 95
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, December 10, 2021
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Officials: #30 John Goble, #33 Sean Corbin, #54 Ray Acosta
Attendance: 16523

LeBron James scored 33 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-95 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

Twice earlier this season, the Lakers had built big leads -- of 19 and 26 points, respectively -- before the Thunder came back to win.

But James played in neither of those games.

In this one, James made his presence felt from the start, scoring the Lakers' first six points in helping Los Angeles build a 25-point lead by midway through the second quarter.

James hit all five of his second-quarter shots, scoring 14 points.

But the Thunder cut the lead to 12 with a 16-3 run. Oklahoma City was 7 for 8 from the field during the four-minute stretch while the Lakers missed seven consecutive shots.

Los Angeles stemmed the tide by scoring the last seven points of the half, and less than two minutes into the third quarter, the Lakers' lead was back up to 25.

Avery Bradley fueled the Lakers on both ends of the court in the third, with 11 points and three steals. Bradley scored a season-high 22, going 8 of 14 from the field with six 3-pointers.

James was 13 of 20 for the field, including 9 of 10 in the first half.

Oklahoma City missed its first 12 3-pointers, not hitting one from beyond the arc until early in the second quarter. The Thunder finished 10 of 44 on 3-pointers.

Rookie Tre Mann led Oklahoma City with a season-high 19 points.

While the Lakers won comfortably, they struggled on the defensive glass, giving up 19 offensive rebounds. But the Thunder couldn't take advantage much, scoring just 14 second-chance points on 5-of-16 shooting.

The Lakers were without Anthony Davis for just the second time this season. Davis was out with left knee soreness one night after scoring 22 in a loss at Memphis.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Oklahoma City, which has lost nine of its last 11.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Oklahoma City
LeBron James 33 Scoring Tre Mann 19
Russell Westbrook 7 Assists Josh Giddey 7
Russell Westbrook 9 Rebounds Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 9
Carmelo Anthony 4 Free Throws Made Theo Maledon 3
Avery Bradley 4 Steals Darius Bazley 3
LeBron James 2 Blocks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 116 47.1 19-42 15-20 23 47 3 12 16
Oklahoma City 95 39.6 10-44 9-14 21 51 3 9 15
Upcoming Games
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Thunder have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .235 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Orlando. The Lakers have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .643 after a loss.