The logic in some corners of the Lakers locker room last season was that the best path to the NBA Finals would not be through Denver, but instead through Oklahoma City – the team tied with the Nuggets for the best record the West.

Denver was too big, too physical and had dominated the Lakers. And the Thunder didn’t have that.

The Lakers had won three straight against the Thunder, viewing their youth, speed and athleticism with wisdom and strength. It gave the Lakers an edge and the belief that if they met Oklahoma City in the playoffs, they would be the stronger team.

A lot can change in a season.

“They’ve made a leap, but they’re also missing a big piece,” LeBron James said, referring to injured big man Chet Holmgren and guard Alex Caruso. “So they will still make a leap. But a really good team. Well guided.”

On Friday, the Lakers hosted the Thunder in the final game of their NBA Cup pool play and felt the newfound power of Oklahoma City in a crushing 99-93 loss that left LA clobbered and almost certainly out of the next phase of the tournament came.

The cup play and final tiebreaker scenarios will be finalized next week, but with two defeats and a negative points differential, the Lakers’ chances of advancing are slim.

The Lakers found out on Friday that when you absorb so much physicality, there’s a mental price to pay.

Max Christie fouled Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive to the basket in the final 24 seconds and grabbed him as if the Lakers had a foul to give. They didn’t, and Gilgeous-Alexander sank a pair of free throws to give Oklahoma City the lead.

“I knew the time and score of the game, but I didn’t know they were in the bonus,” the 21-year-old guard said. “And I should have known, because they were in the bonus for the last three or four minutes. So yes, that’s a mental mistake on my part, and I take responsibility for that.”

After a timeout, the Lakers were unable to inbound the ball, Austin Reaves’ pass was intercepted by Jaylen Williams, leading to a dunk.

It was the Lakers’ 17th turnover, a total that led to 20 Thunder points — the mental errors a result of fatigue and a suffocating defense. Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 36 points and nine assists.

“There were a half dozen to a dozen plays that just shot us in the foot, even before the late game,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We played well and hard enough to beat the best team in the West. So there are definitely good things in there.”

Most of that came on the defensive end, where the Lakers followed up 48 strong minutes in San Antonio with one of their best defensive games of the year.

“That was as connected as our group has been on that end of the floor since the first game of the season,” Redick said. “Just, you know, a really excellent job with a lot of the things that we talked about.”

However, the game came at a price.

Reaves, who hasn’t missed a game and played every game a season ago, pulled himself out of the game in the first half after a foul while driving to the basket led to a terrifying fall.

As Reaves jumped off the baseline and tried to put the ball in, he got sandwiched between Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein and Gilgeous-Alexander and landed flat on his back. Reaves writhed in pain for most of a timeout before staying in the game to make a pair of free throws. A few minutes later he pointed to the bench and headed straight to the locker room.

He returned midway through the third quarter, but he was limited.

James jumped to prevent a bad pass from turning into a turnover and laid it on a three for Dalton Knecht, but was squashed on impact and slowly got to his feet.

“It obviously doesn’t matter that much to me. I like it when the game is played that way,” James said. “I wish more regular season games could be played this way.”

Knecht led the Lakers with 20 points and D’Angelo Russell had 17, but the Lakers’ stars James and Anthony Davis combined for just 27 points. Davis scored 15 and took just nine shots.

After the game, Redick said he and the coaching staff need to do their best to give Davis opportunities to score despite the Thunder defense being focused on slowing him down.

“The second game in a row a team has done that, and he was a willing passer again, seven assists,” Redick said. “He didn’t score the ball the way he normally scores, but he played an excellent game.”

The Lakers (11-8) hit the road again for a four-game trip beginning Sunday in Utah.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.