Die Lakers waren stark ersatzgeschwĂ€cht und mussten ohne Luka DonÄiÄ, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart und Jaxson Hayes antreten. Oklahoma City, das beste Team der NBA, nutzte das aus und gewann 123:87, nachdem es L.A. schon in der Vorwoche um 43 Punkte geschlagen hatte.
Durch die Niederlage fielen die Lakers in der Western Conference vom dritten auf den vierten Platz zurĂŒck. Sie laufen nun Gefahr, hinter die Houston Rockets auf Rang fĂŒnf abzurutschen und damit den Heimvorteil in der ersten Runde zu verlieren.
The Lakers have taken two blowout losses from the Thunder, a possible playoff opponent, in two weeks.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The Los Angeles Lakersâ indignity was predictable on Tuesday, but that doesnât mean it counts any less in the standings.
The Lakers faced the NBAâs top team, the Oklahoma City Thunder while missing Luka DonÄiÄ (out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring strain), LeBron James (out Tuesday with a foot injury), Austin Reaves (out for the rest of the regular season with an oblique strain), Marcus Smart (out since March 21 with an ankle injury) and Jaxson Hayes (out Tuesday with foot soreness).
Thatâs four starters and a rotation big man, against a team that beat them by 43 points last week. This time, the Thunder beat them 123-87, handing L.A. its third straight loss after a stretch in which it won 13 of 14 games.
On the bright side, Bronny James had a nice dunk on his way to four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
The Lakers were third in the Western Conference standings when they entered last weekâs game against the Thunder and are now sitting in fourth. They are also in danger of falling to fifth behind the Houston Rockets and losing home-court advantage in the first round.
Los Angeles is in no danger of slipping to sixth, but its fall from third still means it is staring down a matchup with the Thunder in the event of a victorious first round, which is by no means a given. Itâs unclear when DonÄiÄ and Reaves, their two leading scorers, will be able to return during the postseason.
That would be why the NBAâs most popular team is now a +30000 underdog (i.e. 300-to-1) to win the NBA Finals at BetMGM right now.
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