Lakers encouraged by ability to step up against league’s best competition

OKLAHOMA CITY — An early-season trend for the Lakers was their struggles against the league’s best teams.
But they’ve completely flipped the script in that area, with Sunday afternoon’s 126-99 win over the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center being the latest example.
The Lakers took control early behind Luka Doncic’s offensive performance (30 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five 3-pointers – 14 points; three 3s in the first quarter), giv