Late Mistakes Cost Lakers NBA Cup place in Loss to Thunder
With less than 30 seconds left in Friday night’s game, the Los Angeles Lakers were trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder by two points and needed a big defensive play to turn the game around.
As Max Christie prepared to guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lakers coach JJ Redick signaled a defensive call. However, Christie misunderstood the signal and thought the team had a foul to give. He fouled Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive, unaware the Thunder were already in the bonus.
This error allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to shoot two free throws, which he made, extending the Thunder’s lead to four points with just 22.4 seconds left. This all but ended the Lakers’ chances.
“It was my mistake,” Christie admitted. “I knew the time and score but didn’t realise they were in the bonus. I take responsibility. I won’t say it cost us the whole game, but it was the biggest mistake of the night.”
The Lakers lost 101-93, bringing their record to 11-8 and knocking them out of the NBA Cup. This was their third straight home loss and fourth defeat in five games, including tough matchups against strong Western Conference teams like the Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns.
Christie’s foul was a key moment, but it wasn’t the only mistake. On the next play, Austin Reaves, who played through an arm injury, threw a bad pass that was intercepted by Jalen Williams for a game-sealing dunk.
LeBron James, Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell combined for 14 of the team’s 17 turnovers, which led to 20 points for the Thunder. These mistakes hurt even more for a Lakers team ranked 25th in the league on defense.
“There were several plays that hurt us before the late-game mistakes,” Redick said. “We played hard enough to win against the best team in the West, so there are positives, but we need to clean up the errors.”
The Lakers will need to regroup quickly as their schedule doesn’t get any easier in the competitive Western Conference.
