LA Lakers came out solid today, defying the predictions and notching the 101-86 upset of Oklahoma Cty. "Somebody forgot to tell them they were underdogs," quipped Oklahoma Cty coach Bob after the game. "No question, they were the better team out there today and deserved this win. I thought we came in prepared, but that was just a lot better than we've seen LA Lakers play for some time."

Credit has to be given to LA Lakers coach Andreas Helmle, who brought his team together after some tough losses earlier and has them playing at their best. "Some of the us really took those losses hard," said star Gavagan. "But coach sat us down and showed us what we were doing wrong and what we needed to do to turn around. That was great to hear, and you saw the results today."

LA Lakers was led by Gavagan (14 points, 11 boards, 0 assists, 2 blocks), Leonard (18 points, a steal, a block), Burdette (18 points, 3 blocks). Oklahoma Cty was led by Golden (24 points, 19 boards, 1 assists, 2 blocks), Johnson (16 points, 2 assists, a steal), Mcneil (11 points, 6 boards, 0 assists, a steal).

LA Lakers stand at 25-53 and 18-21 at home with this win. They stay at #4 in the Pacific and stay at #13 overall in the Western Conference. Oklahoma Cty are now 38-42 after the defeat. They move down to #5 in the Northwest and move down to #10 overall in the Western Conference.

box score LA Lakers* roster Oklahoma Cty roster