Anthony Davis scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and LeBron James added 25 points as the Los Angeles Lakers found their winning touch with a 112–105 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Austin Reaves scored 15 points, and D'Angelo Russell added 14 in another turn as backcourt partners as the Lakers won for the third time in nine games. Reaves and Russell were starting guards together for the second consecutive game after last being partnered on Nov. 8.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points for the Thunder after he was a game-time decision because of a right knee sprain. Jalen Williams had 25 points and Luguentz Dort added 11 for Oklahoma City, which saw a four-game winning streak end in the opener of a four-game road trip.
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.
