OKLAHOMA CITY — Fooled by Jalen Williams’ ghost screen, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was left open at the top of the key. Jarred Vanderbilt’s late contest wasn’t enough as the MVP candidate knocked down a deep pull-up 3-pointer to serve as the dagger.

In one of their best games of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off a 136-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Treated as a borderline playoff game, OKC took advantage of a chaotic finish that featured several technical fouls and Luka Doncic’s ejection.

After being demolished by the Lakers on Sunday, the Thunder sent a message to the fellow West contender two days later — no bullying for two straight games in this baseball series. They came out guns blazing with an early 23-13 lead. Points came fast from both sides as the opening frame resembled vintage Big 12 football. Both teams were knotted up at 43 points apiece after the first quarter.

The second quarter turned into who’d cool off first. It turned out to be the Lakers. Absent from their last two losses, the Thunder’s defensive tenacity returned with a 10-0 run. Alex Caruso destroyed the entire game’s flow when he stole the ball from Vanderbilt and crashed into a transition layup. All momentum was on OKC’s side.

The Thunder scored 37 points in the second quarter and entered halftime with an 80-72. Much better than the last halftime break between these two teams when the result was already known.

After that, it was the Lakers’ turn to shut down the Thunder. While Los Angeles has had a middling defense, it’s shown signs of turning up the pressure and being a stout unit. It showed that in the third quarter as OKC’s offense struggled to get good looks. The Lakers went on a 19-6 run to completely flip the momentum. LeBron James went from a forgettable first half to Le-Screw-You 3-pointers.

During the run, Doncic nailed a deep 3-pointer to give the Lakers the 88-86 lead with a little over five minutes left in the frame. Moments later, he was hit with a technical foul — keep that detail in mind, it’ll be important later. Showing how awful the Thunder were in the frame, Cason Wallace stole the final inbound pass but all they could muster was a Lu Dort mid-range jumper that missed at the buzzer.

The Thunder only scored 17 points in the third quarter and exited in a 98-97 deficit. From that point on, both teams went back and forth. They played hot potato with the upper hand as the lead tracker resembled a hospital heart monitor.

At his ejection (Luka Doncic), the Lakers had a 108-107 lead. Three minutes later, the Thunder suddenly had a 120114 lead. Williams capped off the run with a running and-one layup. With a little under six minutes left, Los Angeles only got as close as five points on the scoreboard.

The Thunder shot 50% from the field and went 18-of-37 (48.6%) from 3. They shot 14-of-20 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 52 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 42 points. Williams stepped up with an efficient 26 points. Dort had 17 points and shot 5-of-8 from 3. Chet Holmgren finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and four rebounds. Wallace tallied 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Lakers shot 46% from the field and went 18-of-40 (45%) from 3. They shot 28-of-37 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 37 baskets. Four Lakers players scored double-digit points.