National Basketball Association

Lakers show inability to close after dropping second double-digit lead to Thunder

Updated Nov. 5, 2021 4:06 p.m. ET

It happened again.

The Los Angeles Lakers were on cruise control in the second quarter of their Thursday night outing against the Oklahoma City. They had their shades up, tops down and were riding high, ready to drift off into the LA sunset after building a comfortable 19-point advantage midway through the quarter.

But just as they had done eight days prior against the same team, L.A. took its foot off the gas pedal.

Just six minutes after trailing 44-25, the Thunder had boomed their way right back into contention and entered the halftime break with a slim 52-48 deficit.

Despite playing without LeBron James (who also missed the first meeting with OKC), Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and crew began the third quarter with an invigorated new energy and stretched their lead to eight by quarter's close.

But in the fourth, the Thunder struck with an undeniable force.

OKC shifted the momentum with a 10-0 run. Kenrich Williams gave his squad a one-point lead after slamming home a dynamic dunk with five minutes to play, putting the Thunder in control.

Davis pulled up for a 6-footer to reclaim the lead for LA with two minutes left to play, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit back-to-back free throws with poise, before Williams came up huge again, knocking down a clutch corner 3-pointer to put OKC back up, 98-95.

Carmelo Anthony missed a layup on the Lakers' next try, and with just over a minute left, Gilgeous-Alexander casually walked the ball up-court, cleared out his teammates for an isolation possession, and hoisted a 3 from the logo for a massive deep bomb.

The Lake Show was able to come within one after Anthony hit a trey with 9.8 seconds remaining, but after Luguenzt Dort swished home two free throws, Westbrook came up empty on a potential game-tying 3-pointer to end the game. Westbrook also relinquished a pivotal turnover with 21 seconds to left to allow OKC an easy dunk, just before Melo's big 3.

It was a shocking collapse for the home squad, which knew the feeling all too well after blowing a 26-point lead to OKC last week.

And it's especially dispiriting for Westbrook, who was tossed from the first affair between the two after losing his cool, and who is being viewed a significant factor in the loss the second time around.

After the game, Westbrook, who was visibly frustrated, had this to say in response to a question about the late-game hiccups: "You saw it. Don't ask me questions you know the answers to. You seen it. Just watch the game, you saw what happened. I lost the ball, I missed a 3. There's nothing to it."

Westbrook left the press conference right after answering the question.

For Skip Bayless, the gaffes were just microcosms of a much larger issue.

"Russell Westbrook is killing the Los Angeles Lakers," Bayless said bluntly on Friday's episode of "Undisputed."

"It will not work. I realize LeBron wasn't there for either Oklahoma City game, but Russ was. You also had Anthony Davis, another Hall of Fame player," Bayless said. "There's four Hall of Famers on the floor against an Oklahoma City team that has lost six games, won only two, and both [wins] came in collapses by the Lakers.

"If you would've told me AD had 29 and 18, Westbrook had 27 points and hit 3-6 3s, Melo hit 5-10 3s, and OKC missed eight free throws, I would've looked down and said ‘hmm, [the Lakers] won by 20.’ They had a 19-point lead."

Shannon Sharpe's criticism of the team resides on the defensive side of the ball.

"This was the same reason, they've lost games before," Sharpe said. "Their defense."

"They stopped playing defense. They build this 19-point lead, just like the [26-point lead in OKC], and all of a sudden they start taking bad shots, they start turning the ball over, and they don't play defense. They have these spells where they'll go two, three, four minutes without scoring a field goal.

"If you build a big lead, and you go that length of time without scoring buckets, you better lock in defensively. Cause if you're not scoring, and you're allowing the other team to score, there's not a lead that is big enough in which they can't overcome."

Sharpe used a clever football comparison to assay Westbrook.

"[He] reminds me of Tony Romo. He picks the very worst time to turn the ball over."

Westbrook's turnovers were a known Achilles' heel when the Lakers acquired him, but they're becoming a bigger issue than the team might have previously thought. The season's still in its early stages though, and he has plenty of time to turn it around.

You can watch the full debate here!

Skip Bayless on Lakers blowing 19-point lead to Thunder: Russell Westbrook is killing them I UNDISPUTED

After blowing a 26-point lead at Oklahoma City last week, the Lakers squandered a 19-point last night. The Thunder are 0-6 against the rest of the NBA, but 2-0 against the Lakers. LeBron James did not play in either game, and he is now expected to miss at least one week with an abdominal strain. Skip Bayless shares the reasons for the Lakers' collapse against the Thunder, with one being Russ himself.