Anthony Davis had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and LeBron James added 25 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 on Monday.
The Lakers won for the third time in nine games, with Austin Reaves scoring 15 points and D’Angelo Russell adding 14. Reaves and Russell started guards together for the second game in a row, having previously done so on November 8.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points for the Thunder despite being declared a game-time decision due to a right knee strain. Oklahoma City’s four-game winning run came to an end, with Jalen Williams scoring 25 points and Lu Dort adding 11.
Chet Holmgren had three blocks to give him a Thunder franchise rookie record 98. Oklahoma City allowed the Lakers to shoot 52.4 percent from the floor, while the Thunder finished at 41.7 percent.
The Thunder managed to forge a 50-50 tie at halftime despite shooting 37.5 percent from the field in the opening two quarters. The Lakers took charge with a 34-26 advantage in the third quarter while shooting 70 percent (14 of 20) from the floor to grab an 84-76 lead.
Los Angeles took its first double-digit lead at 93-82 with 8:52 remaining on a driving layup from James, who returned after missing Saturday’s loss at Utah with a left ankle strain.
After the Thunder pulled within 95-90 with 7:14 remaining, the Lakers went on a 9-1 run that included five consecutive points from Rui Hachimura, who added 12 total points in his second game back from a calf injury. The run put Los Angeles up 104-91 with 4:24 left.
Trailing 106-93 with 3:33 left, the Thunder used a 7-0 run to pull within six points. Gilgeous-Alexander could have closed the deficit to four on a shot inside with 1:10 remaining but the ball rolled off the rim.
The Lakers put the game away when Davis converted a dunk on the other end for a 108-100 lead with 50.6 seconds remaining.
The victory was the Lakers’ second consecutive over the Thunder since absorbing a 133-110 defeat at Oklahoma City on Nov. 30.
