Lakers: 3 Things We Learned After Loss to Thunder

Jan 8, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (left) moves the ball defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (right) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (left) moves the ball defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (right) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
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Jan 8, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (left) moves the ball defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (right) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (left) moves the ball defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (right) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

What did we learn about the Lakers after a hard-fought loss to the Thunder?

The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to get absolutely throttled by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night in STAPLES Center, but then something incredible happened: they didn’t. The Lakers put forth one of their most valiant efforts of the season to date and kept pace with the Thunder through all four quarters in a highly competitive, highly entertaining contest.

Even if the Lakers ultimately suffered a four-point loss to the Thunder, it was a great Lakers performance to watch even with D’Angelo Russell being forced to leave the game early due to an ankle injury suffered on Thursday night and with Julius Randle’s struggles continuing.

Lou Williams highlighted the night with a career-high in scoring that carried the Lakers down the stretch. Moreover, Kobe Bryant had his moments as well as he kept things in reach for LA in the second quarter with some vintage Black Mamba moments and shots. It was an unexpected, yet fantastic performance by the veterans on the roster.

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However, the success of the veterans makes the loss all the more tricky as they were competitive without the help of most of the young players, Jordan Clarkson being the obvious exception. The question that’s asked because of that is, of course, what can the team take away from the loss to OKC.

Luckily, there is something that can be learned about this Lakers team in the midst of a rebuilding process every time they take the floor. Though it’s a bit different than it would be on most nights for this team, these are the three biggest things that we learned from Friday night’s thriller against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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