Steven Adams big double-double couldn't prevent the Oklahoma City Thunder from a fifth NBA loss in six games.
OKC were outgunned by a LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers 138 - 128 in overtime thanks to outstanding contributions from second-year forward Kyle Kuzma (32 points) and young centre Ivica Zubac who scored 26 points with 12 rebounds.
Adams was excellent in the Thunder loss pulling down 15 boards with his 17 points.
It's a worrying slide for OKC who have gone from within one-win from top spot in the Western Conference to looking over their shoulder at the chasing bunch.
The Thunder are third in the West scoring 26 wins from 44 games but are only two games ahead of the eighth-placed Lakers.
The Thunder led by as much as 17 points early in this contest but the Lakers closed the gap quickly. It was neck and neck the rest of the way in a game that had 19 lead changes.
OKC took a thin lead into the final quarter but the Lakers wouldn't go away and had a final minute lead before guard Russell Westbrook landed three-clutch free-throws from the charity stripe to send the game to overtime.
The Thunder were horrible in the extra five-minutes, outscored 16-6 by the Lakers thanks to big buckets by Zubac, Kuzma and Lakers guard Lonzo Ball.
Paul George had a team-high 27 points to go with eight assists and also had the most shocking stat of the night - he went the entire fourth quarter without a field goal attempt.
He did shoot two free throws in the fourth quarter but did not attempt a field goal from the 58-second mark in the third until the first possession of overtime.
The Lakers have now won two in a row and are 5-7 since LeBron's injury 12 games ago.
They're 25-21 and are tied with the Utah Jazz for the final playoff spot in the West.
Newshub.
