Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points in 28 minutes as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Lakers 123-87 on Tuesday in Los Angeles, marking their second blowout of the Lakers in five days.
The Thunder (63-16) extended their winning streak to six and recorded their 18th victory in 19 games, moving closer to clinching the top spot in the Western Conference for the third straight season, needing only one more win or a San Antonio Spurs loss.
The Lakers fell a game behind the Denver Nuggets for third place in the West, suffering their third consecutive loss and now tied with Houston after the Rockets beat Phoenix.
Even without Luke Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, Los Angeles kept pace with the defending NBA champions through the first half, but the Thunder pulled away decisively in the second quarter.
It was a sharp contrast to Thursday’s 43-point loss in Oklahoma City, when the trio of stars was available and the Thunder led by 23 after one quarter and kept pouring it on.
Los Angeles battled back from an early seven-point deficit on Tuesday to tie the game early in the second quarter. Oklahoma City then went on a 23-5 run over the final 7:16 of the half to take control for good.
The Lakers shot 33.3% from the floor in the second quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander got going early, shooting 4 of 5, scoring 11 points and dishing out five assists in the opening quarter.
By early in the third quarter, the outcome was all but decided, with one of the few remaining questions whether Gilgeous-Alexander would extend his NBA record for most consecutive games with 20 or more points. He pulled within one with a 3-pointer nearly seven minutes into the third that put Oklahoma City up by 27.
About two minutes later, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a flurry, scoring baskets on three straight Thunder possessions to end his night. He left the game for good with more than a minute remaining in the third, the 25th time this season he sat out the entire fourth quarter.
He finished 10 of 15 with eight assists and two steals.
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain added 18 and 15 points off the bench, respectively. Joe was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and has gone 14 of 21 from deep over the past three games.
Rui Hachimura led Los Angeles with 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting. No other Lakers player scored more than 11.
