Western Conference top seeds Lakers suffer heavy defeat to the Thunder
NBA teams continue to play for seedings in their Florida bubble.
The Los Angeles Lakers appeared to suffer a hangover after sealing the Western Conference top seed with a lacklustre 105-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers were undone with Chris Paul scoring 21 points and Danilo Gallinari adding 19 for the Thunder, who are even with the Houston Rockets for the fifth seed in the west.
Poor shooting was the downfall of the Lakers, with the side making only 35 per cent of their shots and scoring five of 37 three-point attempts.
LeBron James led the way for the Lakers with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but Anthony Davis – who averages over 26 points a game this season – was held to just nine.
Elsewhere, Ben Simmons left the game with a left knee injury but the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Washington Wizards 107-98.
The Wizards have lost four straight games since the NBA restarted in the Florida bubble and are on the cusp of missing out on the post-season.
Joel Embiid top scored with 30 points, while Tobias Harris added 17.
In the Western Conference play-off race, there were defeats for the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs who are among the teams vying for the eighth seed.
The Grizzlies went down to the Utah Jazz 124-115, with Joe Ingles scoring 12 in the final quarter, while the Spurs were defeated by the Denver Nuggets 132-126.
Reigning champions the Toronto Raptors, who are closing in on securing the second seed in the East, made it seven wins in a row with a 109-99 victory over the Orlando Magic while the Boston Celtics – third in the conference – swept past the Brooklyn Nets 149-115.
