LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis finished with 37 points and 14 rebounds, Dennis Schröder scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Lakers picked up an important victory for their postseason hopes by beating them 116-111 on Friday. to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Lonnie Walker scored 20 points in a strong return to the rotation for the Lakers, who won their third consecutive game to tie Minnesota for seventh place in the Western Conference.
With Davis leading on both ends of the floor, the Lakers also moved to .500 (37-37) for the first time this season by holding off the Thunder despite the injury-free absences of LeBron James and D’Angelo. Russell.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey each had 27 points for Oklahoma City, which lost for just the fourth time in its last 12 games. The Thunder tied Dallas for 10th in the West.
Russell did not play with a sore right hip, adding to James’ absence in an important game for the Lakers’ aspirations. Los Angeles dropped to 8-5 without James, staying in contention without the leading scorer in NBA history.
