OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers were far from perfect when it came to their game plan execution duringTuesday’s 108-90 Game 1 lossto the Thunder at Paycom Center.
But they did enough to hang around against thedefending NBA champions.
They disruptedThunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive rhythm with multiple defensive coverages.
They limited their live-ball turnovers, still finishing with 18 but only allowing 20 points off those giveaways.
But it wasn’t enough to pull off the victory, with coach JJ Redick pulling his main rotation players with 1:45 remaining with his team trailing 105-87 after watching his team struggle to put together an effective offense for most of the second half.
The Lakers scored just 37 second-half points after having 53 points in the first two quarters.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting to go with 6 assists, 4 rebounds.
Rui Hachimura had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting while Deandre Ayton added a 10 point-11 rebound double-double, but the offense was stuck in the mud for most of Tuesday night.
Austin Reaves (8 points on 3-of-16 shooting to go with 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers) struggled. So did Marcus Smart (12 points on 4-of-15 shooting to go with 7 assists and 4 rebounds).
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