Russell Westbrook’s return to Oklahoma City on Wednesday did not exactly go as planned.
The Los Angeles Lakers faced the Thunder on the road and got out to a big lead in the first half. They led by as many as 26 points, eventually taking a 72-56 lead into halftime. But the wheels came off the bus in the second half for the Lakers, as they were outscored by the Thunder 67-43 the rest of the way. Oklahoma City ended up winning the game by a 123-115 final for their first victory of the season.
The embarrassing loss for the Lakers led to some funny memes on Twitter.
Lakers legend James Worthy even said that the loss might have been the worst that he had ever seen.
The Thunder entered the game 0-4 on the season with a rebuilding roster of mostly young no-names outside of top scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and top defender Luguentz Dort. Yet somehow, they came away with the win against a Lakers roster loaded with All-Stars and future Hall of Famers.
The Lakers were without LeBron James due to an ankle injury and were also on the second end of a back-to-back. But that is still no excuse for the way they played. Westbrook had 10 turnovers, while Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk both airballed threes late that could have tied the game.
Now 2-3 on the year, this is already the second awful loss for the Lakers in the early going. Last week, they got blown out at home by the Phoenix Suns in a game that saw them fighting each other on the bench. It could be a long season in Lakerland if the team does not get it together pronto.
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