Thunder at Lakers
The Oklahoma City Thunder snapped out of a four-game slide in impressive fashion with a 125-105 triumph at the NBA-best Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The Thunder will try to make it back-to-back triumphs and get some revenge when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Oklahoma City, which dropped a 108-104 decision at home to the Lakers on Sunday, forced the defending champs into 25 turnovers while All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George combined for 72 points. "It's not about them, it's about our team," Westbrook told reporters. "I don't want to make the story about them, that we beat them. It really don't matter who we played tonight, our job is to worry about our team, this locker room and that's all I worry about." The Thunder should worry a little about the Lakers, who picked up their third consecutive win with a 112-93 blowout of the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Los Angeles, which won 11 of its last 15 games, had six players score at least 13 points in Sunday's triumph over Oklahoma City.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE THUNDER (31-24): The one downside to Tuesday's win was watching forward Carmelo Anthony leave the game in the first quarter after suffering a sprained right ankle. "I've got to get on this flight, get round-the-clock treatment tonight and tomorrow," Anthony told reporters after the game. "Thursday is a long, long time away from now, so we'll see what happens. I'm pretty sure you guys will know of any decisions that are made." Anthony went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting before his departure and is shooting 31.8 percent from the floor over the last five games, including 4-of-23 from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (22-31): Los Angeles is winning without rookie point guard Lonzo Ball and is getting a big contribution from rookie shooting guard Josh Hart, who recorded a double-double in each of the last three contests. Filling in for Ball at point guard is small forward Brandon Ingram, who delivered 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting and five assists on Tuesday. "Just trying to play the game the right way," Ingram told reporters. "I think being aggressive for myself and for my teammates gets a lot of guys open and we're just making the next pass available and getting the best shot we can."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lakers PF Julius Randle is averaging 19.2 points over the last five games -- five better than his season average.
2. Thunder C Steven Adams recorded nine double-doubles in his last 13 games.
3. Oklahoma City shot 60.2 percent in a 133-96 victory at Los Angeles on Jan. 3.