NBA Twitter reacts to Saturday’s great game by Lakers, LeBron James
Coming into Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers had lost four games in a row and five of their last six.
After some guarded optimism earlier this month, they had fallen from fourth place to 10th place in the Western Conference. Fans were begging for all types of changes, from lineup adjustments to the firing of head coach Darvin Ham.
Ham did make a lineup adjustment for Saturday’s contest by moving the struggling D’Angelo Russell to the bench and having forward Jarred Vanderbilt return to the starting five. It worked, as the Lakers played with great energy and defeated the Thunder, who came in with the second-best record in the West, 129-120. LeBron James led the way with a very efficient 40 points.
Fans on X (formally Twitter) reacted to this excellent performance by the Purple and Gold.
LeBron. I actually don’t know what to say anymore. This dude surprises me every game. He moved so smoothly tonight. It felt like I was watching the 2012-2013 version of LeBron. He was PHENOMENAL tonight.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. 40 POINTS!!!
— BEARS/LAKERS (@StarBoyMuse) December 24, 2023
Rui came in clutch tonight. He has been struggling this season, but tonight he showed everyone what he’s capable of.
— BEARS/LAKERS (@StarBoyMuse) December 24, 2023
@Lakers Tell Darvin Ham to make sure Rui gets his minutes. https://t.co/M51TuDZLCl
— ❤️🖤JoekerSSB 💜💛 (@_DistortedHeart) December 24, 2023
Lakers new starting lineup with Lebron at point guard is awesome. Just like in 2020. When Lebron runs the offense, he is more engaged defensively. But Reaves & Dlo have to this effective to buy him rest. All we need is trading Vincent for Bogdanovic & signing a real big at center pic.twitter.com/eTJcZvNokc
— zengreenyoda (@zengreenyoda) December 24, 2023
D’angelo Russell freezes Shai with his patented, behind the back crossover and then hits Rui with the pinpoint bounce pass for the easy dunk.
The man did everything you could have asked for tonight coming off the bench in just 17mins. pic.twitter.com/Dul82P3m7L
— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) December 24, 2023
This No-Look, Inbounds Whip Pass by D’angelo Russell to LeBron James was slick as hell.
Caught everyone off-guard. pic.twitter.com/PLdU98d9aF
— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) December 24, 2023
The Lakers length forced OKC to make tough shots and limited offensive rebounds. The offense didn't suffer and it balanced the rotation.
— Lord Hater (@PolitiksCommon) December 24, 2023
Lakers twitter would’ve had them playing together more since game 1 https://t.co/KWy9nC3PB4
— GoldenKnight (@GoldenKnightGFX) December 24, 2023
There simply aren’t words to describe what LeBron James is doing.
We’ve never seen it before. Probably won’t ever see it again. Blessed to have him on our team 🫡 https://t.co/egfQqcHAlW
— Lakers Insiders 🎄 (@LALInsiders) December 24, 2023
From the 8:48 mark of the 4th:
Lebron jumper
Lebron layup
AD jumper
Lebron ft
Lebron ft
Lebron 3pt
Lebron jumper
Lebron ft
Lebron 3ptScored 15 of the lakers last 17 points
GOATISH behaviour from bron🐐@Lakers @RealSkipBayless @KingJames @LakeShowYo pic.twitter.com/XpCKZPb3nk
— perseverancemunemo (@ministerpmunemo) December 24, 2023
Impressive win by the Lakers at OKC. Monster game by Lebron. The "inflamed ankle tendon" that kept him out Thurs night must've miraculously healed. OK, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY POSTSEASON EXCUSES ABOUT BAD ANKLES OR "FATIGUE." 37 more minutes tonight. King of the World.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 24, 2023
That’s a season-altering win for the Lakers. It seemed inevitable that they would walk out of their building on Christmas Day with a losing record. Instead, LA goes on the road and beats an elite Oklahoma City team. There’s obviously still a lot of work to do, but this was big.
— The Amateur NBA Analyst (@droppingdimes98) December 24, 2023
Lakers put the ball in LeBron & AD’s hands w/ the starting group & then shuffled in their 2nd through 4th best offensive players against bench units where they had less resistance. Whether that’s a formula for success long term remains to be seen, but it worked well vs. OKC.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) December 24, 2023
Nothing I love more than seeing Lakers haters cry after a Lakers win that they thought they would be able to clown the Lakers about.
— 🖤 Black Hearts 🖤 (@BankRollJMG) December 24, 2023
Lets bring on those Leprechauns on Christmas Day #LakeShow 💛💜
— Rally Chris (@RallyChris26) December 24, 2023
