Frank Vogel
Photo: Los Angeles Lakers/YouTube

The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second time this season, despite holding a comfortable 19-point in the first half.

Three players finished the game in double digits for the Lakers, namely Anthony Davis (29), Russell Westbrook (27) and Carmelo Anthony (21). LeBron James was absent as he is dealing with an injury.

Once again, the purple and gold were unable to maintain their lead and allowed their opponents to come back and take the win.

“They’re going to keep playing. That’s it,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said postgame. “The NBA game is a long game. Early leads don’t really mean anything in the modern NBA. You got to keep playing.

“We learned that lesson last week. But they made their run in the second quarter and it’s 48-minute game, you got to play four quarters.”