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The Lakers’ up-and-down early season continued Thursday night. Russell Westbrook had a tough final 30 seconds against the Thunder, who picked up their second win of the year, 107-104. Both of OKC’s wins have come at Los Angeles’s expense.
With around 21 seconds left on the clock and the Lakers down two, Westbrook penetrated the Thunder defense. As he took a gather step, he lost the ball out of bounds, handing it back to Oklahoma City.
Luguentz Dort scored on a dunk, extending the Thunder lead. After a Carmelo Anthony three-pointer, Dort hit a pair of free throws, giving OKC a 107-104 lead with less than eight seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Westbrook called his own number, taking a contested three with Dort in his face. He hit the back of the rim, sealing the Lakers’ loss.
After the game, Westbrook was asked about those final moments. He didn’t give much insight into what went down.
“You saw it. Don’t ask me questions you know the answers to,” Westbrook said. “Just watch the game, you see what happened. I lost the ball. I missed a three. There’s nothing to it.”
Westbrook was second on the team with 27 points in the Lakers’ loss, but got there with a relatively inefficient 10-of-23 shooting night. He hadded six rebounds and five assists, while turning it over a team-high four times.
For the season, Westbrook is averaging 20.2 points, the lowest scoring output he’s had since 2009-10, along with 8.4 rebounds and 8.1 assists. He’s shooting 44.4% from the field, but just 26.3% from three-point range. Even so, his game-winning attempt was no aberration:
The Lakers fell to 5-4 on the season. L.A.’s next game is against the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
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