No Big Three. No surprise.

Without 80% of their starting lineup, the Lakers, predictably, got crushed by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, losing 123-87 to drop their third consecutive game and fall one game out of third place in the Western Conference.

Already without Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) for the rest of the regular season, the Lakers had to dig deep in their bench when LeBron James (left foot injury management) and Jaxson Hayes (left foot soreness) were ruled out.

With Marcus Smart (ankle) sidelined for his eighth consecutive game, the Lakers were without five of their top nine players. They could have used UCLA star center Lauren Betts, who was celebrated along with her teammates on the court after the Bruins won their first NCAA championship Sunday.

Deandre Ayton, the only regular starter remaining, had just three points and three rebounds before the Lakers (50-29) started clearing the bench in the third quarter. Rui Hachimura led the Lakers with 15 points and five rebounds while Luke Kennard had 10 points and nine assists.

With the Lakers’ top ball-handlers out, Kennard has been forced to adapt into a temporary point guard role. He had his first career triple-double Sunday, tying his career high with 11 assists in a loss to Dallas.

The dearth of guards makes Smart’s injury even more costly.

The right ankle contusion Smart sustained against Orlando has lingered longer than expected, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Tuesday, but the guard had a productive on-court session before the game and is trending toward playing this week. The Lakers have three regular-season games remaining, beginning with games at Golden State on Thursday and home against Phoenix on Friday.

From looking like a potential threat in the West, the Lakers are now fourth, falling behind Denver by one game. The Nuggets have won nine consecutive games.

The Lakers could fall as far as fifth, costing them home-court advantage. Before the Lakers received confirmation of the severity of Reaves’ injury Saturday, Redick said the team’s mission of hanging onto the third seed remained unchanged despite Doncic’s hamstring injury.

Redick recalibrated expectations Tuesday.

“The seeding part probably went out the window after the OKC game,” Redick said.

The Lakers simply have to “tackle the situation in front of you,” Redick said. The next three games will not only decide the Lakers’ first-round playoff matchup, but the coaching staff is still evaluating the best rotation, Redick said.

Rookie Adou Thiero, who has battled on-and-off knee injuries through most of the season, showed promise in 21 minutes. He brought a bolt of energy off the bench early, skying over a Thunder player for a rebound that led to an extra Lakers possession and free throws for Thiero.

The former second-round pick finished with 10 points and four rebounds, despite having to leave in the second quarter after taking a hard elbow to the forehead. He immediately went to the locker room holding a towel to his face and returned in the third quarter with a white bandage between his eyes.

The cut didn’t hold him back on a two-handed dunk late in the third quarter.

Drew Timme had a team-high 10 points in the first half, making all four of his shots, as the Lakers stayed competitive through the first one-and-a-half quarters. Kennard’s acrobatic, twisting layup with 7:26 remaining in the second quarter tied the game 42-42.

The Thunder (63-16) answered with a 23-5 run to finish the half.

________

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.