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LeBron James Shocked and Lakers Fans Shut Down: Two Things You Missed After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Dagger Three

Published 11/05/2021, 10:30 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The Lakers’ see-saw season continued on Thursday, as the side suffered another shock loss to the OKC Thunder. Every time LA fans get their hopes up, their optimism has come crashing down thus far. In the absence of LeBron James, Frank Vogel’s men put up a fight before squandering their lead in Q4. One of the game-changing moments came when Thunder’s new star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nailed an impeccable deep three-pointer.

While it has been a tough campaign for Oklahoma, their two victories have come against James’ side. This is a belittling statistic for the men in yellow, considering they were the favorites coming into the 2021-22 season. However, lack of a clear system and fitness issues have come as a chink in their armor. After relatively cruising for three quarters, things came crashing down for Anthony Davis and co. In the end, the Thunder eked out a 107-104 victory.

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WATCH: Gilgeous-Alexander shocks LeBron James and Lakers fans with unbelievable three-pointer

It seemed to be a disciplined performance from the Lakers to start off. In the absence of their star forward, Kent Bazemore earned himself another start. With the momentum shifting back and forth, the Lakers held onto a slim lead for a vast majority of the encounter. After pulling clear in the fourth as well, what unfolded was an unthinkable comeback. The protagonist of OKC’s recovery, 23-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

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Scoring 28 points on the night, Shai made one of the shots of the year so far, and sunk Lakers hearts in the process. Deep in the fourth quarter, when Oklahoma had just clinched the lead, the home team was looking for a turnaround. On the contrary, the youngster decided to take matters into his own hands. He sunk a clutch three-pointer from the edge of the Lakers logo at the half-line, and pretty much sealed the deal in the process. Meanwhile, a startled LeBron and the rest of the Staples Center couldn’t believe what they just saw.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is undoubtedly one of the breakout stars this year. He is averaging close to 24 points, and carrying the Thunder on his shoulders. If the franchise hopes for any sort of a turnaround this season, the point guard will be their go-to man.

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Written by:

Sankalp Harikrishnan

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Sankalp Harikrishnan is an NBA and Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He aspires to pursue Sports Journalism and has represented his institution in cricket, badminton, football and table tennis. Sankalp idolises Roger Federer and Stephen Curry, and has an inherent love for statistics.
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