The LA Lakers grip on the third seed within the Western Convention strengthen with a win at OKC.
The brand new look LA Lakers took on the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder for the primary time because the Luka Doncic commerce, and it was a convincing success.
JJ Redick’s facet gained 126-99 in OKC, with the star trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves combining for 69 of the factors.
And regardless of a bit reliance on this trio, one of many stars of the sport was a participant the Lakers traded for earlier than the Luka Doncic deal landed on their lap.
Mid-season acquisition Dorian Finney-Smith was traded to the Lakers in a take care of the Brooklyn Nets that despatched D’Angelo Russell in the other way.
Finney-Smith has develop into a significant a part of the Lakers crew, regardless that he was not among the many starters in opposition to OKC.
He performed starters minutes, ending up with a complete of half-hour, with Jaxson Hayes enjoying solely 13.
Finney-Smith contributed 14 factors, 7 rebounds and a pair of assists, going 4-5 from three and 2-2 from free throws.
Most impressively, Finney-Smith had one of the best ‘plus-minus’ of any participant on the courtroom, registering a +28.
This was the seventh highest ‘plus-minus’ of any particular person Lakers participant in a person sport all season.
The very best belongs to Luka Doncic, who nights earlier had a +37 in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Lakers’ teammate Gabe Vincent ended up with a +21, he contributed 12 factors from the bench throughout his 26 minutes.
With Jared Vanderbilt (+4) and Jordan Goodwin (+12) each efficient of their minutes, the Lakers have discovered an efficient group of function gamers.
On any given evening, the Lakers can slot one or two of those gamers into the beginning rotation.
The sport nonetheless belonged to Luka Doncic, who led the crew with 30 factors, bouncing again from a tricky evening in opposition to the Warriors, with a win in opposition to the Pelicans in between.
