Home

NBA

Gritty Oklahoma City Thunder Suffocate Lakers Offense And Pull Off A Major Upset

Published 08/06/2020, 12:39 AM EDT

Follow Us

The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off an upset to win against the Los Angeles Lakers. The gritty Thunder team kept the number one seed in check throughout the game, not allowing them to get in their groove and won the game 105-86. Big games call for big players, and veteran Chris Paul answered the call. He led the game in scoring and was the leader for the OKC Thunder as always.

Following the birth of his son, Thunder’s Dennis Schroder had to leave the bubble. They were also missing Terrance Ferguson, who was out with a leg contusion. Despite this, they were able to get the win. The Thunder were also helped by the Lakers continued run of poor shooting nights, which saw them go 5/37 from beyond the arc, at a miserable 13.5%.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Oklahoma City Thunder: Proving critics wrong

The Thunder were given a 0.2 chance to make the playoffs by ESPN. During the post-game interview, Paul repeated multiple times, “Nobody expected us to be here. 0.2%,” to remind the critics of how wrong they were.

One of the biggest positives for the Thunder was undrafted rookie Luguentz Dort’s defense on LeBron James. He was a pest throughout the game and didn’t allow LeBron to get comfortable. Their defense overall was so good that it was the first time in the whole season that the Lakers were unable to have the lead even once. It was the fewest points the Thunder have allowed to the Lakers since 2016.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us


The Thunder also had an underwhelming shooting night, as they went 5-24 from the three-point line. But they were clinical with their free throws. They went to the line 36 times and converted 32, at an amazing 88.9% percent. All five of their starters scored in double digits. Despite giving away five turnovers, CP3 was still the best player on the court, putting up 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists while going 66.7% from the field.

Since Thanksgiving, the Thunder have had the second-best record in the league. They have had a 36-14 record since then, with only the Bucks above them.

The Thunder are now 3-1 in the bubble and they face the Grizzlies and the Wizards next, who are yet to win a game. Billy Donovan’s men ascended into the fourth seed after this win and will be hoping to win and cement this position.

Sources:

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Schroder Leaves the Bubble, Ferguson Out

ESPN Stats and Info on Twitter

StatMuse on Twitter

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

OKC Thunder on Twitter

OKC vs LAL

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Aaron Mathew

1,689Articles

One take at a time

Aaron Mathew is a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Mass Media from Xavier’s College, Aaron has been a part of EssentiallySports since May 2020 where he covers both NBA and NCAA basketball news, and has also covered NBA 2K. In the past, Aaron has worked at the Sports Desk of Mumbai Mirror.
Show More>