Jalen Williams scored 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 19 as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a two-game skid with a 119-110 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Alex Caruso finished with 17 points and Chet Holmgren posted 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who played their third straight game without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander because of an abdominal strain. Gilgeous-Alexander will be replaced at Sunday’s All-Star Game by Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün.
Oklahoma City erased an eight-point deficit in the third quarter to avoid a season-high third consecutive loss.
LeBron James had 22 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, whose three-game winning streak ended. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Jake LaRavia added 14 for Los Angeles.
The Lakers are 0-2 against Oklahoma City this season, with the teams set to meet two more times later in the regular season.
Gilgeous-Alexander (31.8 points per game) and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic (32.8) are the NBA’s top two scorers.
The Thunder trailed 99-98 before an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk with 7:08 left sparked an 11-2 run. Oklahoma City took a 109-101 lead on a 3-pointer by Williams with 3:05 remaining.
James pulled the Lakers within 111-108 on a dunk with 1:43 left, but Holmgren followed with an offensive rebound and putback dunk with 1:17 remaining to push the Thunder lead back to five.
James missed a 3-point attempt with 40.7 seconds left, and Williams sealed the win with two free throws for a 117-110 lead with 35.9 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before Los Angeles went on a 22-3 run to take an 85-77 lead with 5:09 left in the period. The Thunder responded and carried a 93-91 lead into the fourth after a late 3-pointer by Caruso.
The Thunder led by 14 in the first half and were up 67-58 at halftime. Joe scored 16 points in the first half for Oklahoma City, while Reaves had 12 for Los Angeles.
