The Lakers’ chance of advancing in the NBA Cup is slim after the devastating defeat against the Thunder

The logic in some corners of the Lakers’ locker room last season was that the best path to the NBA Finals would be not through Denver but through Oklahoma City – the team that has the West’s best record, the Nuggets.

Denver was too big, too physical and had dominated the Lakers. And the thunder hadn’t done it.

The Lakers had won three straight against the Thunder, honoring their youth, speed and athleticism with wisdom and power. It gave the Lakers an advantage and the belief that they would be the tougher team if they faced Oklahoma City in the playoffs.

A lot can change in one season.

“They’ve made a leap, but they’re also missing a big piece,” LeBron James said, referring to injured big man Chet Holmgren and defenseman Alex Caruso. “So they’ll make another jump.” But a really good team. Well trained.”

On Friday, in the final game of their NBA Cup pool play, the Lakers hosted the Thunder and felt the new strength of Oklahoma City in a crushing 101-93 defeat that left LA defeated and almost certainly out of the next round of the eliminated from the tournament.

The cup games and final tiebreak scenarios will be completed next week, but with two losses and a negative point differential, the Lakers’ chances of advancing are slim.

The Lakers discovered Friday that taking on so much physicality also comes with a mental cost.

Max Christie fouled Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive to the basket in the final 24 seconds and grabbed him as if the Lakers had a foul to give. They didn’t and Gilgeous-Alexander sank two free throws to give Oklahoma City the lead.

“I knew the playing time and the score, but I didn’t know it was included in the bonus,” said the 21-year-old guard. “And I should have known because they were in the bonus for the last three or four minutes. So yes, this is a mental mistake on my part and I take responsibility for it.”

After a timeout, the Lakers couldn’t get the ball in, Austin Reaves’ pass was intercepted by Jaylen Williams, resulting in a dunk.

It was the Lakers’ 17th turnover that resulted in a total of 20 Thunder points – the mental errors were the result of fatigue and stifling defense. Gilgeous-Alexander had game-highs of 36 points and nine assists.

“There were a half-dozen to a dozen plays that just shot us in the foot before it got too late in the game,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We played well and hard enough to win against the best team in the West. So there’s definitely good stuff.”

Most of that happened on the defensive end, where the Lakers delivered one of their best defensive games of the year after 48 strong minutes in San Antonio.

“It was as connected as our group has been on that end of the floor since the first game of the season,” Redick said. “Just, you know, a really excellent job with a lot of the things we talked about.”

However, the game came at a price.

Reaves, who has never missed a game and played every game a season ago, withdrew from the game in the first half after a foul while driving to the basket led to a frightening fall.

As Reaves jumped from the baseline and tried to pass the ball in, he was caught between Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein and Gilgeous-Alexander and landed flat on his back. Reaves writhed in pain for most of the timeout before staying in the game and making two free throws. Minutes later, he pointed to the bench and went straight to the locker room.

He returned midway through the third quarter but was limited.

James jumped to prevent a bad pass from turning into a turnover and hit the ball to Dalton Knecht for a three-pointer, but was flattened in a collision and was slow to get back up.

“Of course it’s not a big deal for me. I like the game to be played that way,” James said. “I wish there were more regular season games that could be played this way.”

Knecht led the Lakers with 20 points and D’Angelo Russell had 17, but the Lakers’ stars James and Anthony Davis combined for just 27 points. Davis scored 15 points and took just nine shots.

After the game, Redick said he and the coaching staff needed to do a better job of creating scoring opportunities for Davis, even though the Thunder defense was focused on slowing him down.

“This is the second game in a row that a team has done that, and he was a willing passer again, seven assists,” Redick said. “He didn’t shoot the ball like he normally does, but he had an outstanding game.”

The Lakers (11-8) return to the road for a four-game trip starting Sunday in Utah.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.