The Los Angeles Lakers adjusted their rotation but it wasn’t enough as they were blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3. Their 131-108 loss has the Lakers facing the prospect of being swept in the Western Conference Semifinals, with Game 4 set for Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City remained undefeated in the playoffs so far at 7-0. They are the first team since the 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers to start the playoffs 7-0 the year after winning an NBA championship.
Saturday’s game followed much of the same script from the series. The Lakers remained competitive into halftime before ultimately fading.
L.A. overcame a slow offensive start, particularly from Austin Reaves, as they trailed just 31-25 at the end of the first quarter. One of their lapses was in allowing the Thunder to score 16 points in the paint compared to just six of their own.
Rui Hachimura continued his record-shooting behind the arc and moved into ninth place on the Lakers’ all-time playoff 3-pointers list in the process. Hachimura’s 64th career 3-pointer with the Lakers in the playoffs broke a tie with Sasha Vujacic, who coincidentally was on hand as the honorary captain for Game 3.
Luke Kennard opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, and that proved to be a positive sign as the Lakers collectively shot well from behind the arc. The Lakers outscored the Thunder by eight points in the second quarter and took a 59-57 lead into halftime.
The Lakers at one point in the third quarter had more turnovers (four) than made baskets (three). Protecting the basketball was one of the areas of emphasis for head coach JJ Redick following the team’s Game 2 loss.
The Lakers went on a 7-0 run late in the third quarter to cut their deficit to five, but the Thunder responded behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaiah Joe to open a 90-79 lead. Through three quarters the Thunder had 28 points off Lakers’ turnovers.
Oklahoma City kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter and maintained a double-digit lead over the final 12 minutes. Reaves did not score in the second half until a three-point play with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Jake LaRavia did not play in the Lakers’ loss, even with Redick emptying the bench in the final minutes.
Lakers fighting against playoff history
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in best-of-seven series have advanced 92% of the time. There have only been 34 times where a team has overcome a 2-0 series deficit, with James involved in three such instances.
Moreover, the matchup with the Thunder marked the 11th time in James’ career he’s faced a 2-0 series deficit in a best-of-seven. He’s 3-7 in those series thus far.
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
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