The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-111 on Friday night, led by 37 points and 14 rebounds from Anthony Davis, and 13 of Dennis Schröder’s 21 points in the fourth quarter. This victory was crucial for the Lakers’ chances of making the playoffs.

Despite the absences of LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell due to injury, the Lakers won their third straight game to tie Minnesota for seventh place in the Western Conference rankings.

“It was a must-win game for us,” said Davis “We had to come out and get this game, and we came out offensive and defensively just playing extremely well. … We’ve got to .500, and now it’s time to get on the other side.”

“With Davis leading the way on both ends of the court, Los Angeles (37-37) reached .500 for the first time this year. The Lakers started the season 2-10, but they’re 12-6 since the trade deadline with a rapidly cohering roster and the looming return of the NBA’s career scoring leader.”

“This team is locked in and connected,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “The vibe and the spirit have been great. Guys are really trying to figure out how we can be better. That’s what you want. … Guys are competing because they know what they’re representing. They know the history of the franchise they’re representing.”

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, Josh Giddey contributed 27 points and 17 rebounds.

NBA Twitter reactions

“Back to .500” one person tweeted.

“Monster game from AD. Everything coming together at the right time.” another person tweeted.

“Imagine celebrating .500. This used to be a franchise that won 3 straight championships 😭😭😂😂😂😂😂” another person tweeted.

“Lakers got to .500. It seemed like the hardest thing to do but Lakers finally did it. Now, let’s see if we can make it to a playoff spot. There’s some winnable games on the horizon. 1st, take care of business with Bulls👊” another person tweeted.

“There’s still a job to be done for the rest of the season to make the playoffs, but this is a good start. 3 straight wins and now onto a Bulls team that they haven’t played yet this season. Keep it up Lakers!!!! 💜💛” another person tweeted.

“Austin Reeves needs to be starting over Malik Beasley every game. Malik Beasley is way too inconsistent” another person tweeted.

“schroder stepped it up in the 4th when we needed it, big W” another person tweeted.

“Lonnie Walker = Ultimate professional. Stepped up big on a bad AR night” another person tweeted.

“Lets gooo .500 for the first team this season, AD monster night, lonnie big coming off the bench and dennis went off in the 4th 🔥. Lets get the W against the bulls” another person tweeted.

“Next up is bulls, they too are at a hot streak. The next two games against them will be crucial. Even without derozan, this team is dangerous with Caruso, jack lavine, vucivic.” another person tweeted.

On Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks suffered a heartbreaking 140-134 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves despite Julius Randle scoring a career-high 57 points.

“It’s a shame to waste a performance like that,” Knicks coach said after the game.

“Randle’s dominance was apparent throughout the first three quarters of a defenseless showcase in which the Knicks trailed by as many as 17. Randle poured in a team-record 26 points in the third quarter, bringing the Knicks back into the game, but the All-Star forward wasn’t able to will his team across the finish line, scoring just five points in the fourth.”

“He played so well,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “He brought us back, he played unbelievable. We just got to be better as a team to help him make that career night feel like something special. But when you lose that, kind of just chops all the feeling out of everything.”

“Randle was 19-for-29 from the field and 8-for-14 from 3-point range in passing his previous career best of 46 points. He played 37 minutes and made 11 of 13 attempts from the free throw line.”

NBA Twitter reactions

“WHERES THE PEOPLE WHO DOUBTED HIM? WHERES THE FAKE KNICKS FANS AT I WANNA KNOW? RANDLE A TOP 10 PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE” one person tweeted.

“All them clowns saying trade Randle are real quiet now! He’s been that guy for us this season” another person tweeted.

“Dude is playing like prime Carmelo Anthony I have to say it now. But better passing the ball, rebounding, of course he does have a lot more help than Melo had” another person tweeted.

“Not the guy we may have wanted but a guy we definitely needed” another person tweeted.

“A career high in a loss is not good” another person tweeted.

“Randle is giving us all he can. Our bigs must score some points to help us win games” another person tweeted.

“I’m cryin 😭 we got us a superstar” another person tweeted.

“Need this Julius in the playoffs 🔥🔥🔥” another person tweeted.

“Julius Randle is on fire tonight! He’s showing why he’s one of the top players in the league with this career-high performance. Keep it up, King Julius! 🔥🔥🔥” another person tweeted.

Warriors at Hawks: On Friday, Trae Young led the Atlanta Hawks to a 127-119 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Trae Young led his side to victory with 25 points and a crucial defensive play in the final minute of his team’s win.

Golden State lost on the road for the tenth time straight despite Stephen Curry’s 31 points. The Golden State Warriors (36-35) hold the 6th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“I really think a lot of good is coming our way down the stretch, but we’ve got to get there,” Kerr said.

“The Hawks led 123-119 before Young’s steal from Curry, and the layup stretched the advantage to six points.”

“They were trying to get the switch, trying to get the mismatch,” said Trae Young, who lead Atlanta Hawks with 25 points with 12 assists. “I just timed it perfectly.”

While Atlanta ended a two-game losing streak to hold onto eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, John Collins scored 22 points, and Onyeka Okongwu added a season-high 19 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 14 points and four made 3-pointers.

“The Warriors were without forward Draymond Green, who served an automatic one-game suspension without pay after being called for his 16th technical foul of the season in Wednesday night’s 134-126 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. Green drew the foul when he threw the ball off Russell Westbrook’s face late in the game.”

The Golden State Warriors‘ road record now stands at 7-28. Their home record is 29-7.

“It’s not mental,” Kerr said about Golden State Warriors’ road struggles. “I think we’re competing. We’re playing pretty well. It’s hard to win on the road in this league. We’re just not getting it done.”

NBA Twitter reactions

“I’ve already moved onto next year too lol” one person wrote.

“That was a guaranteed loss after seeing that starting lineup, even to a struggling Atlanta Hawks. Jordan Poole will never be an Allstar in this league.” another person wrote.

“We are finished. Besides all of our mistakes, our defense is trash. We relying too much on steph too, he must be tired imagine 35yo always carrying his team. Cmon man😌” another person wrote.

“the Hawks were literally handing the game to the Warriors.. the Warriors just didn’t like to take it” another person wrote.

“What a sad game, not just missing the threes. The inconsistency is just bad. We can do better DubNation” another person wrote.

“The defense can’t pick easy loose balls 🏀 and that’s very pathetic. Steve Kerr sub Steph when he is about heating into the game. This defense ? OMG 💔💔” another person wrote.

“Warriors lose on the road in atlanta. The team is missing their 3x key defensive star players in Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Gp2.” another person wrote.

“This sadly gonna be the first playoff series we losing around healthy klay, curry and green. When we even make it so far” another person wrote.

“That was a hard watch. What y’all doing on offense??” another person wrote.

“Lack intensity and focus during road games. Lack extra energy to go after rebounds and loose balls, follow up mussed shots and defend without fouling.” another person wrote.