LeBron James and the Lakers continue to make self-inflicted errors, but the team sees reasons for hope in close loss to West-leading Thunder

The Los Angeles Lakers ' chances of making it to the knockout round of the Emirates NBA Cup were on the line on Friday when they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder in their final game of group play.

Alexander told the world last year that his life was consistent across the board. But perhaps even he didn’t know it could get this deep.  On Friday, with his Thunder (15-4) grinding and attempting to stomach more forgettable offense — a bug that’s lasted the better part of a road trip — Gilgeous-Alexander sized up his defender while up one.