After a devastating series of possessions had erased a 12-point lead in mere minutes, the Lakers found themselves down by one and searching for someone to take the shot with the game on the line.
Brandon Ingram drove toward the paint, drew a pair of Oklahoma City defenders and located an open Lou Williams waiting at the top of the 3-point arc. But Ingram’s pass never reached Williams, as Nick Young ran from the right side of the floor, intercepted the ball and fired away.
Young’s fallaway triple splashed through the net with 5.0 seconds remaining, sending the sold-out Staples Center crowd from anxiety to euphoria, as the Lakers pulled out the 111-109 victory.
“It was a petty incredible shot by him,” head coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously one of the reasons we like Nick on the court at the end of the game is because he is not afraid of the moment. He made a big shot for us.”
Despite losing starting point guard D’Angelo Russell to a sore left knee, the Lakers (8-7) were prepared for this game from the opening tip-off.
A mostly-close first quarter was broken open, as Los Angeles ended the frame on a 15-2 run led by 3-pointers from the cast members of the final sequence: Young, Williams and Ingram.
That provided a 29-16 lead, but the Thunder (8-7) stormed back and took a two-point advantage just before halftime until Young — in what turned out to be some heavy foreshadowing — navigated through the defense and splashed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give his team the lead at intermission.
The Lakers once again began building momentum in the third quarter, which they kept rolling into the fourth.
By halfway through the final period, L.A. had expanded its lead up to 12 points, but OKC star Russell Westbrook went supernova from there, scoring all of his team’s points in an ensuing 15-6 run that saw him hit four 3-pointers, a step-back jumper off the glass and a free throw.
With 43.2 seconds to go, he then drew enough attention from the Lakers’ defense to pass the ball to Steven Adams for an easy dunk that trimmed L.A.’s lead to 108-107.
After Larry Nance Jr. missed a hook shot on the next possession, Westbrook’s mid-range attempt bounced off the rim, but Adams was there to fight for the offensive rebound and put it through the hoop for a one-point Thunder edge.
That’s when Young stepped up by swiping an open look away from his teammate.
“I think they should’ve given me a steal for that,” Young laughed.
Instead, he had to settle for just the game-winning bucket, which beats the alternative if he hadn’t come through while taking away Williams’ opportunity.
“We all told him if he would’ve missed, he would’ve been an internet sensation,” Nance said.
After a timeout, Westbrook attempted his own winning shot, but it was off the mark, ending the Lakers’ nine-game losing streak to the Thunder.
Young — a Los Angeles native — thought back to the clutch shots of the franchise’s history that belonged to players like Kobe Bryant, Robert Horry and Derek Fisher.
“Yeah, I got mine,” he said. “Mine’s kind of unique because I stole it from my own teammate.”
Russ Against the World
While Young left Staples Center as the night’s hero, it took a collaborative effort to overcome a titanic performance from Westbrook, who piled up 34 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists.
Young — who had a career-long reputation as a subpar defender before making huge strides this season — was tasked with covering Westbrook — a one-man artillery who entered the game just 0.3 rebounds shy of averaging a triple-double.
While Westbrook certainly had a scorching night, Young was able to keep him somewhat contained thanks in part to help from Timofey Mozgov’s rim protection. Westbrook finished the game with a 13-of-30 mark from the field and eight turnovers committed, as the Lakers shared the wealth in their own offense.
Jordan Clarkson, who shot just 1-of-12 in Sunday’s loss to Chicago, seemed free of his previous struggles, leading the Lakers with 18 points while Young provided 17.
Four other Lakers scored in double figures as well, including Jose Calderon, who contributed 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and four 3-pointers while filling Russell’s role as starting point guard.
Notes
The Lakers shot 50.6 percent from the field, including 14-of-27 on 3-pointers. … Mozgov (16 points), Williams (13) and Ingram (11) also reached double-digit scoring. … Adams scored 20 points for OKC. … Julius Randle shot just 1-of-5 and had six turnovers while playing with a hip pointer.