Lakers Tamp Down On Thunder, 106-81

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points, and the balanced Los Angeles Lakers defeated the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 106-81 on Thursday night.

Brandon Ingram added 19 points, Julius Randle scored 17 and Kyle Kuzma had 16 for the Lakers, who won their eighth straight at home. Los Angeles is 12-5 in its last 17 games, including four consecutive wins.

Paul George scored 29 points for the Thunder, who played without Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony as each was hampered by a sprained ankle. Steven Adams had 13 points and nine rebounds as the Thunder lost for the fifth time in six games.

After knocking off the Thunder 108-104 in Oklahoma City on Sunday, the Lakers breezed to a lead as large as 27 points in the fourth quarter. Rookie Josh Hart had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

George started strong with 12 points in the opening 6:52, hitting his first five shots including three 3-pointers. The Thunder opened up an 11-point lead, but the Lakers closed the first quarter on a 22-8 run and took a lead they would not relinquish at 30-27 on a three-point play by Randle with 3.8 seconds left.

Randle scored 13 points in the first half and Caldwell-Pope added 10 as the Lakers took a 52-46 lead into the locker room.

George had 22 points at the break, making 8 of 14 shots from the field and 4 of 6 from the 3-point line. The rest of the Oklahoma City lineup shot 27 percent (10 of 37), and no other Thunder player took more than nine shots.

TIP-INS

Thunder: Raymond Felton had seven points, five rebounds and three assists as he took Westbrook's place in the starting lineup. Patrick Patterson, who replaced Anthony, was scoreless in 26 minutes. Jerami Grant and Alex Abrines each scored eight points.

Lakers: G Lonzo Ball (left knee) missed his 12th straight game.

CLEARING THE DECKS

The Lakers traded G Jordan Clarkson and F Larry Nance Jr. to the Cleveland Cavaliers for G Isaiah Thomas, F Channing Frye and a 2019 first-round pick. With Thomas and Frye on expiring contracts, it gives Los Angeles a path toward clearing enough cap space to sign two free agents to max deals next summer.

Lakers fans made it clear who they would like to see join the team, giving George a loud ovation when he was introduced as a starter. One fan yelled, "Come home, Paul," as George was at the free-throw line in the third quarter.

NO TIME FOR I.T. DEPARTMENT

Lakers coach Luke Walton was so caught up in preparing for the Thunder that he had yet to begin figuring out how Thomas might fit in with the surging young team. Walton hadn't even spoken to Thomas, as the two traded voicemails in an attempt to reach one another.

"If there was no game today, then, yeah, most of today would have been spent watching film on him and calling people that I know around the league that may either have played with him or coached him and coming up with game plans, but most of today has been spent on prepping for OKC," Walton said.

UP NEXT

Thunder: Host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Lakers: Open a three-game trip at the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

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