Scott after rout: Lakers 'scared, in awe' of OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY — After the Los Angeles Lakers suffered the sixth-worst loss in team history Saturday, falling 118-78 to the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, coach Byron Scott said his players were “scared” and “in awe” of Oklahoma City.
“Those guys looked like they were scared tonight or intimidated by [Kevin] Durant and [Russell] Westbrook,” Scott said, referencing the two Thunder stars. Scott added of his players, “They didn’t play well at all and really just got embarrassed by the way we played tonight.
“Like I told them, I said, it was pathetic in every area. We didn’t come to compete and they just played harder than we did. Like I said, it just looked like we were in awe of that team.”
Lakers rookie guard D’Angelo Russell disagreed.
“I only can speak for myself,” Russell said. “[I’m] definitely not scared.”
Lakers second-year forward Julius Randle sided with Russell.
“We didn’t have energy. We didn’t play with energy. We didn’t play as a team,” Randle said. “[But] we definitely weren’t scared.”
The Thunder led by as many as 46 points en route to dropping the Lakers to 4-23.
Durant finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes, and Westbrook added 13 points and 11 assists in 28 minutes. Neither played in the fourth quarter.
Randle scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting off the bench. Russell added 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench.
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