Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder to easy 123-87 win over injury-depleted Lakers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 points and eight assists, and Isaiah Joe hit six 3-pointers in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-87 victory over the injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Jared McCain scored 15 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the NBA-leading Thunder, who swept the season series against the Lakers with their sixth straight victory and 18th in 19 games overall.

The Lakers had their lowest-scoring performance of the season while playing without Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes, who represent a combined 94.6 points per game. Doncic and Reaves are out for the rest of the regular season, while the 41-year-old James sat for one game to rest his arthritic left foot.

Rui Hachimura scored 15 points and Drew Timme had 11 for the Pacific Division champion Lakers, who have lost three straight since losing Doncic and Reaves to injury last week in Oklahoma City.

Los Angeles had won 13 of 14 and was closing in on the third seed before losing Doncic, who is in Europe seeking treatment on his Grade 2 left hamstring strain.

Rookie Adou Thiero scored a career-high 10 points for the Lakers, who still kept the game even until midway through the second quarter. But Oklahoma City finished the half on a 23-5 run, and Los Angeles scored just 22 points in its next 24 minutes of play.

Lakers coach JJ Redick and Jarred Vanderbilt exchanged heated words after Redick called a timeout and removed Vanderbilt from the game 16 seconds into the second quarter. Assistant coaches and players stayed between the two until the lengthy exchange cooled down, and Vanderbilt didn’t play again.

Up next

Thunder: At Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Lakers: At Golden State on Thursday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba