Luka Doncic scores 30 as Lakers win against Thunder

The Los Angeles Lakers exploded to win a surprising 126-99 victory over the No. 1 in a devastating display of long-range shooting with Luka Doncic scoring 30 points. Oklahoma City Thunder ranked No. 1.

Los Angeles rattled in 15 three-pointers, a franchise record, to give the West Conference leaders a 78-56 lead in the second quarter, effectively ending a heavyweight showdown between the third-placed Lakers and the Western Conference leaders.

With a comfortable win over Oklahoma City, the Lakers never looked like giving up that significant double-digit cushion.

After beating Oklahoma City and Houston, the Lakers were one of the four remaining automatic playoff spots in the West.

Doncic was responsible for five of the Lakers’ 22 three-pointers throughout the entire contest. LeBron James added 19 points while Austin Reaves made four three-pointers with his 20-point total.

The Thunder, who shot just 43 percent from the field and made only 12-of-37 three-pointers, led the Oklahoma City scoring with 26 points on an off-night.

After a quick start against the Western Conference leaders, James claimed that the Lakers were determined to stay put.

The best teams in the NBA are Cleveland and them, James said. You can’t let up, no matter what the score is because they’re the West’s top team because they’re always going to push themselves. Because of this, they are still in this season.

We’re just trying to develop our habits at the moment, in the middle of the year, to capitalize on it. So, that’s a really good win for us and one we can build on.

Reaves thinks the outcome will be positive for the regular season’s final week, which kicks off on April 13th.

From the third-placed Lakers (48-30) to the eighth-placed Memphis Grizzlies (46-32), six teams are vying for four playoff spots in the West.

” It’s huge, “Reaves said”. You can move up from third to eighth with the simple click of a finger. It’s significant for us to enter and play such a strong team as we did tonight. Hopefully, that momentum will continue.

On Tuesday in Oklahoma City, the teams will meet again.

For the first time since November 15, the Thunder have scored less than 100 points.