THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS' late-season surge didn't just lift the team's position in the standings. It transformed their hierarchy and buoyed their belief.
For more than a month -- 33 days, to be precise -- from the end of February until the beginning of April, the Lakers were one of the hottest teams in basketball, seemingly building momentum for a long postseason run.
The injuries that had plagued the roster from the start of training camp had resolved. The roles for the Lakers' three stars in Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves had found harmony. And the results had been dominant.
From Feb. 28 to April 1, the Lakers went 16-2. Their offense, which had ranked No. 11 through their first 58 games of the season, jumped up to No. 4. Their defense, which had ranked 24th, was a suddenly reliable ninth.
Even though the Lakers were 10 games above.500 before the streak began, there were legitimate criticisms of how sustainable their performance had been up to that point -- and their improved play quelled even those concerns.
Suddenly the team that couldn't shoot went from No. 19 to No. 8 in 3-point percentage. The team that didn't have the requisite athletes to get back in transition went from No. 13 in opponent's fast-break points to No. 8. And the team that always lost to good teams counted the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets (twice) among their conquests.
After a 127-113 win over Cleveland on March 31, during which the Lakers outscored the Cavs 78-49 in the second and third quarters to avenge a 30-point loss from earlier in the season, Doncic was asked about the season's turnaround.
"The run we've been on," Doncic said, "it means a lot. We got to just keep playing."
Then, 48 hours later, everything changed.
A TORNADO WATCH and storm that flashed lightning bolts across the sky and poured more than an inch of rain on Oklahoma City foreshadowed the Lakers' game against the Thunder on April 2.
It was the first time L.A. had faced the defending champion since Nov. 12, when the Thunder romped 121-92.
In that game, the Lakers were missing James, who was out because of a sciatica injury that kept him out the first month of the season, and the Thunder was without Jalen Williams, who was recovering from offseason wrist surgery.
Five months later, this game was supposed to be different, with both teams at full strength and the Thunder just as hot as L.A., having won 15 of their past 16 games.