Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals started on a promising note for the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Oklahoma City Thunder eventually pulled away to secure a 108-90 win.
Austin Reaves continued to struggle in his third game back from a Grade 2 left oblique strain, shooting just 3-for-16 from the floor with a team-high four turnovers. He also missed all five of his shots from 3-point range.
“Obviously the easy thing is to make more shots,” Reaves said after the game. “I got to my spots multiple times and just missed a couple easy shots. But for the most part, gotta limit the turnovers, they pressure the ball really well. Gotta give us an opportunity to get a shot on goal every possession.”
Since returning in Game 5 of the Lakers’ first-round matchup against the Houston Rockets, Reaves has made only 14 of his 46 field goal attempts, including 2-for-17 from behind the arc.
When asked if he feels himself getting closer to returning to form, Reaves said he simply has to perform up to expectations.
“I mean, nobody cares about that,” he began. “I gotta go out there and play better.”
With no room for error against a Thunder team that looks like a juggernaut, Reaves said he has to turn the page and get ready for Game 2.
“Watch film, see what the game gives you and like I said, learn from that and move on,” Reaves answered when asked how he moves forward after games. “It’s not gonna do us any good thinking about that.”
With Luka Doncic still sidelined due to a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, the Lakers need Reaves to be at his best if they want any chance of pulling off a major upset over the Thunder.
The 27-year-old still isn’t quite back to 100% though, so it could take a little more time before he starts feeling like himself again. Reaves also wasn’t the only player who struggled in the opening matchup, so L.A. will need a better all-around effort if they want to steal Game 2 in OKC.
JJ Redick: Lakers made too many mistakes in Game 1 vs. Thunder
The Lakers stuck with the Thunder for much of the first three quarters before the Oklahoma City finally pulled away in the fourth. Head coach JJ Redick didn’t feel like there was one moment where things shifted for his team, but rather that they just made too many mistakes overall.
“I don’t think there was a turning point,” Redick said after the loss. “I think it was a general theme throughout the night of when we made game plan mistakes, they hurt us. I thought the Houston Game 5 was the most game plan mistakes we made in a playoff game so far, we obviously lost that game.
“You’re playing the World Champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not that high. You can make mistakes, basketball is a game full of mistakes, there was just too many tonight. We gotta clean that up.
“But there was some good things. We won expected score, held Shai under 20, he ended up with seven turnovers. Guys played hard, we just gotta do a better job with execution. It comes down to just the attention to detail on that and I know we’ll clean things up and be better.”
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