The Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder will share the court in a high-profile showdown this middle of the workweek. Both teams are inside the top four in the West with the Thunder occupying the top spot and the Lakers sitting fourth overall in the conference. Will the Lakers become the first team to beat the reigning champs in OKC this season? Or, will SGA and company claim another victim at Paycom Center?
Catch this game live on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 10:30 AM, Manila time
Away: Los Angeles Lakers (8-3, 5-1 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Luka Doncic
- Austin Reaves
- Marcus Smart
- Rui Hachimura
- Deandre Ayton
The Lakers play almost every night, finding out how great life is with Luka Doncic on their roster. On Tuesday, the former NBA scoring champion lit up the Charlotte Hornets for 38 points to show LA the way to a 121-111 victory. It was a huge recovery for the Lakers from a 122-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday to start a five-game road trip. Doncic shot 14/28 against the Hornets while dishing out seven assists.
Los Angeles is going to need Doncic to be in that kind of form, if not better, against the Thunder, who have yet to drop a home game this season. The good news for Doncic is that he’s got solid weapons around him, with the likes of Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura all coming off productive performances in the Hornets game. Reaves had 24 points in that contest, while Hachimura dropped 21.
The Lakers are 7-3 straight up in their last 10 games in OKC, while covering the spread in six of those games as well.
Oklahoma City Thunder (11-1, 5-0 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Cason Wallace
- Ajay Mitchell
- Chet Holmgren
- Isaiah Hartenstein
Who’s stopping the Thunder? So far, only one team has solved the reigning champs, and that was in a close 121-119 OKC loss to the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month. Since then, the Thunder have gone 3-0, including Wednesday’s 126-102 mauling of the Golden State Warriors at home.
The Thunder will be playing the Lakers in the second leg of a back-to-back set, but some of Oklahoma City’s key players played way fewer minutes in the Warriors game than their season averages. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points in just 28 minutes versus the Dubs, while Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein each played just 25 and 20 minutes, respectively. Oklahoma City’s defense is a juggernaut that could greatly limit the Lakers’ attack. On the season, the Thunder are No. 1 in the league with a 104.1 defensive rating and also tops with a 50.5 defensive effective field goal percentage.
The Thunder are 3-0 ATS in their last three home games.
Picks
Spread: Oklahoma City Thunder (-7.0)
Over/Under: Under (224.5)
