The Los Angeles Lakers will feel they let the game slip against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They managed to turn the game around with a strong third-quarter performance. But crunch moments lacked execution. The Lakers had open looks they missed, turnovers they could have avoided, both of which deflated their energy.

A particular stretch involved Jake LaRavia having decisive looks to give the Lakers the lead. He had three attempts in quick succession in crunch time. For his first two, the bench was behind him, putting their hands up in anticipation that the Lakers could take a slight edge. LaRavia struggled.

The young role star didn’t stop shooting, getting a third look from beyond the arc to tie the game. LaRavia missed again, and it appeared as if the thrill was snatched out of the Lakers bench. They didn’t raise their hands, cheer, or do anything as the 24-year-old took his sixth three-point attempt of the game.

It signalled the Lakers losing hope of turning things around after a sensational stretch that helped them overcome a 14-point deficit. The bench’s actions didn’t determine the result. However, LeBron James feels it plays a part in the Lakers not being a championship team. When drawing comparisons to OKC, the Akron Hammer pointed to energy as the difference.

“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not. We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won a championship,” James bluntly responded.

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These are small observations. The Lakers had four minutes when the bench lost all its spark. Looks weren’t going down, but the game was still hanging in the balance. A team like the Thunder doesn’t lose sight of such situations. They are prepared to dial the intensity even more, especially if it’s their home floor.

JJ Redick feels he could have done more with LeBron James

JJ Redick was dealt a tough hand playing against the Thunder. They didn’t have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the Lakers were without Luka Doncic. Furthermore, Austin Reaves is still on a minutes restriction, making his way back from a calf injury. The only way for the Lakers to get something consistently was through LeBron James.

Redick felt the Lakers checked the effort box well in this game. But he regrets not playing through the 41-year-old, even when they found a way to create mismatches.

“I didn’t think we did a good job of getting LeBron the ball. Some of that was we called plays and we didn’t execute. … Him playing against smaller players was how we got back in the game,” said Redick.

LeBron James was involved far more in the second half. He scored 14 of his 22 over the last 24 minutes of the game. But the Lakers looked to pull the finishing touches by using his gravity and creating open looks at the perimeter. The Lakers hit just 10 threes. Luke Kennard, who played seven minutes in the final quarter, wasn’t allowed to take a single three-pointer. That was up to the Thunder’s defensive IQ and the Lakers failing to make the most out of James regularly disbanding their defense.

OKC starting to collapse on James’ drives did force JJ Redick to rely on spacing. But if that is the case, the Lakers’ best shooters need to get a shot. Kennard and Rui Hachimura combined for just one three-point attempt between them.

That’s the reason Redick felt the Lakers failed to execute late in the game. They created the right looks which, had they gone in, could have shifted the momentum into their favor. The Lakers still showed great fight to push the Thunder without Doncic. But they need to polish up on their schemes in order to win such closely contested games.