Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points in 28 minutes as the Oklahoma City Thunder demolished the Lakers for the second time in five days, prevailing 123-87 on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The Thunder (63-16), by earning their sixth consecutive win and their 18th in 19 games, moved within one win or one San Antonio Spurs loss of clinching the top spot in the Western Conference for the third consecutive season.
Despite the Lakers (50-29) being without Luke Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, they hung with the defending NBA champions into the second quarter.
It was a sharp departure from the Lakers’ 43-point loss in Oklahoma City on Thursday — with that trio of stars available — when 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.
However, Oklahoma City 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-for-5, scoring 11 points and dishing out five assists in the opening quarter.
By early in the third quarter, the outcome had all but been decided and one of the few remaining questions was whether or not 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 quarter that put Oklahoma City up by 27 points.
About two minutes later, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a flurry, scoring baskets on back-to-back-to-back Thunder possessions to end his night.
Gilgeous-Alexander left the game for good with more than a minute remaining in the third, the 25th time this season he sat out during the entirety of the 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.
The Lakers fell a game behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 spot in the West with their third consecutive loss.
Rui Hachimura led Los Angeles with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. No other Los Angeles player scored more than 11.
