A 102-93 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night left the Lakers with their third defeat in their last four games at Staples Center.
That's after starting the season 19-2 at home.
After an energized first quarter in which the Lakers led by as many as 12 points, they looked drained for much of the next 36 minutes in Derek Fisher's return to Staples Center.
Given a chance to make a statement against the team with the best record in the Western Conference, the Lakers' play said plenty. And then the crowd had its say.
PHOTOS: Lakers vs. Thunder
Restless fans booed the Lakers early in the fourth quarter after Kevin Durant fed Russell Westbrook for an emphatic dunk that gave the Thunder an 84-70 lead. Things would only get uglier for the Lakers on an airballed floater by Matt Barnes.
Westbrook finished with 36 points on 13-for-27 shooting and Durant had 21 points after making 10 of 22 shots, including a monster one-handed dunk over Pau Gasol.
Andrew Bynum had 25 points and 12 rebounds while Kobe Bryant added 23 points on seven-for-25 shoting for the Lakers, who didn't get much from anyone else. Gasol had 13 points and the bench was a no-show again one game after Barnes broke through with 18 points against Golden State, with the reserves combining for 16 points against the Thunder.
Fisher finished with seven points, two rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes.
Thunder 78, Lakers 68 (end of third quarter)
The Lakers seemed stuck in slow motion for much of the third quarter compared to Oklahoma City, which scored 13 of the first 14 points amid a flurry of jumpers, layups and put-backs.
Russell Westbrook put the exclamation point on a quarter in which the Thunder outscored the Lakers, 34-19, by hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Westbrook had 17 points in the quarter, giving him 26 for the game. It wasn't as productive a quarter for Kevin Durant, who made a three-pointer but also picked up a technical foul for complaining about a foul called on him while defending Andrew Bynum.
Kobe Bryant has 18 points for the Lakers on inefficient five-for-17 shooting, and Bynum has 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Lakers 49, Thunder 44 (halftime)
Oklahoma City has the best record in the Western Conference for a reason.
The Thunder weren't shaken after falling behind by double digits early, fighting back against the Lakers to make it a tight game before halftime at Staples Center.
Kevin Durant's shots started falling after a first quarter in which he made only one of nine attempts for Oklahoma City. He made four of seven shots in the second quarter and has 10 points at halftime.
