PHOTO/Getty Images-Andrew D. Bernstein
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back in Los Angeles the Thunder had trouble holding on to the basketball in the early going turning it over eight times. The Lakers had their own difficulties with possession turning the ball over five times.
The difference came with what happened right after those turnovers, the Lakers took full advantage of OKC's miscues turning those eight turnovers into a whopping 18 points while the Thunder couldn't generate anything on the scoreboard from the Lakers giveaways.
OKC still managed to stay within arms reach of LA, never trailing by more than a dozen. The Thunder made several runs to close the gap but the lead changed just twice and even then it was by just a single point. Eventually the Thunder ran out of steam and lost 112-107.
Dennis Schroder led the way off the bench with 31 points and Danilo Gallinari added 25 but three OKC starters, Chris Paul, Terrance Ferguson and Steven Adams, combined to score just nine points.
The Thunder will get another crack at the Lakers Friday night at The Peake.