Lakers player grades: L.A. gets flattened by the Thunder

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the month of April having won 16 of their previous 18 games, and on Thursday, they had the opportunity to make a huge statement against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder . Instead, they were dealt a reality check and were slammed to the pavement. They committed eight turnovers in the first seven minutes and change of the game, which resulted in them falling behind 25-9.

They were down 82-51 at halftime and trailed by as many as 46 points, and this was the type of game in which just about everything went against them. Oklahoma City's defense, particularly on the perimeter, was suffocating, and it played the passing lanes very well to force turnovers. Los Angeles simply couldn't find any kind of remedy at any point in this game.

On the other end, Luguentz Dort had all 14 of his points in the first 8:30 of the first quarter, and Isaiah Joe came off the bench to score 20 points and hit six 3-pointers in just 13 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was in cruise control with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Los Angeles was beaten soundly in just about every category.

The Thunder shot 53. 9% from the field and 45. 2% from 3-point range, compared to 43% overall and 23.