Heading into Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, not many believed the Los Angeles Lakers would be able to give the team with the best record in the Western Conference much of a game. The Lakers had a three-game losing streak with one of the losses coming against the Los Angeles Clippers, setting a franchise record for worst loss in terms of point differential.
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However, behind a career-high 42 points from Jodie Meeks, the Lakers beat the Thunder, 114-110. The come-from-behind win was enough for the game to take home the honor of most tweeted sporting event from last week, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell:
Most tweeted sporting event this past week was Lakers-Thunder game. Most tweeted non-sports TV program was The Walking Dead (Nielsen)
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) March 10, 2014
The Thunder held a five-point lead at halftime, but struggled in the third quarter, which was when Meeks and presumably Twitter, caught fire. Meeks torched the Thunder for 20 third quarter points, besting the Thunder by one, who collectively managed to score 19 points in third. The sixth-year shooting guard, whose offensive repertoire has evolved this season, scored 24 of his 42 points in the second half. Meeks was also a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line, joining Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson as the only Lakers to score over 40 points and shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe (minimum of 10 attempts) in a single game. Bryant has done so 19 times and Abdul Jabbar, Johnson and Meeks have one apiece.
Sunday’s win was an uplifting moment for a Lakers team that hasn’t had much to rejoice over this season. From injuries to losses to public disagreements between Pau Gasol and Mike D’Antoni, the 2013-2014 season has very much so taken on a “when will it be over?” feel. For one day, the Lakers were able to enjoy being the talk of the NBA and social media for the right reasons.
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