Crazy stat shows how much Thunder have terrorized LeBron James’ Lakers tenure

The Los Angeles Lakers have once again been on the receiving end of a right old spanking from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thanks to a careless first quarter in which they allowed the Thunder to convert defense into offense, the Lakers fell behind by an insurmountable deficit — a 31-point margin — at halftime, which is typically a death sentence against this elite OKC squad.

Earlier in the season, the Lakers also crumbled in similar fashion against the Thunder. But to make matters worse, the Lakers also lost Luka Doncic to a serious-looking hamstring injury, losing not just the battle, but also the war, so it seems.

Just to put into perspective how much the Thunder have dominated the Lakers this season, the two largest halftime deficits LA has faced during LeBron James’ tenure with the team up to this point (since October 2018) have both come against OKC this season. They fell down by 32 points at the half of their 121-92 loss to OKC back in November, and they were down by 31 earlier today at the half en route to a 139-96 defeat.

The Lakers have to be better against the best of the best in the NBA, as getting over those teams is necessary if they were to mount a challenge for the 2026 NBA championship.

Lakers undergo nightmare of a Thursday night

Without Doncic, the Lakers stand no chance of mounting a deep playoff run. As things stand, Doncic’s hamstring injury is very concerning vis a vis the Lakers’ hopes of competing for a title, as there are only two weeks remaining before the playoffs begin and hamstring injuries tend to linger.

The Lakers might have been better off just packing it up at the half, as they barely stood any chance against OKC anyway considering how poorly they played on the night.

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