With national eyes watching, the Los Angeles Lakers got crushed by Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. After tying things up after the first quarter, the Lakers went on to lose by 37 points, their largest margin of defeat this season.
Additionally, the Lakers dropped their eighth straight, tying their longest losing streak of last season. It wasn’t a pretty postgame from head coach Luke Walton who said it looked like the Lakers felt sorry for themselves and gave up midway through the game.
“Our fans deserve better than that and our organization deserves better than that,” Walton said.
It was also the first time George returned to Staples Center since being dealt to Oklahoma City last year, and he received a warm ovation from all the fans in attendance. After the game, George admitted the welcome from Lakers fans definitely touched him.
“It was awesome,” George said. “Just being home, being in front of friends, family. And the respect, the love, the recruitment. It was awesome to get that love and energy.”
But the Lakers talk didn’t stop there. George was also asked about what he thought of this current Lakers roster, given their 37-point loss moments prior.
“The best thing is they have young guys that are potentially going to be big names in this league. They just got to continue to keep working.”
Next up for the Lakers on this homestand, the Charlotte Hornets come into town on Friday night. We’ll see if the Lakers can finally break that losing streak.
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