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Lakers’ Marcus Smart doesn’t hold back on Thunder blowout
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers must have gone into their Wednesday night clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder with high hopes. After all, OKC was on the second night of a back-to-back, and they have the rest advantage coming off their Monday night win over the Charlotte Hornets. But then the Lakers proceeded to get punched in the mouth — with the Thunder whooping them to the tune of a 121-92 demolition.

From the get-go, the Lakers received no mercy from the ruthless Thunder. OKC was forcing turnovers left and right, and the Purple and Gold could not respond. They resorted to too many difficult shots, and with both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves going through off shooting nights, there was no chance for the Lakers to put up much of a fight.

At the end of the day, all the Lakers could do was acknowledge the fact that they got ripped apart by the reigning champion Thunder. After the game, veteran guard Marcus Smart just implored his team to take this punch on the chin and move on.

“There’s nothing we can take away other than we got our ass kicked, and we got to bounce back,” Smart said, via Kobi Price of So Cal News Group.

Indeed, over an 82-game grind, there’s no point in dwelling over a loss such as this. The Lakers are still 8-4 on the season, and they have not even gotten a single minute from LeBron James this season yet.

The Lakers will look to return to winning ways when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans in NBA Cup action on Friday night.

Lakers endure nightmare outing against the Thunder


© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Lakers turned the ball over 20 times against the Thunder on Wednesday, and that is a recipe for disaster against the best defensive team in the association. Moreover, Doncic and Reaves combined to shoot 11-32 from the field, and it’s impossible for a Purple and Gold squad that relies too much on these two players to win whenever they shoot this poorly.

Having James back would help a lot with the Thunder matchup, as he will provide rim pressure, creating easier shots from the perimeter for LA.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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