The Los Angeles Lakers have put forth an admirable effort during stretches of their Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the reigning NBA champions sit with a 3-0 series lead and remain undefeated in the playoffs this year.
A common theme has emerged through the first three games, with the Lakers hanging tough into halftime before the Thunder take control in the third quarter.
In Game 2, the Lakers were ahead 58-57 through the first two quarters. Oklahoma City proceeded to outscore them by 14 points in the third quarter en route to a 125-107 victory.
On Saturday, the Lakers overcame a sluggish start to lead 59-57 at halftime. The Thunder then outscored L.A. by 13 points in the third quarter and cruised to a 131-108 win at Crypto.com Arena.
“I mean, you could say that,” answered Austin Reaves when asked if the Thunder simply have a response to any strategy the Lakers attempt to deploy.
“I thought we played really good first half, even a little bit in the third quarter. That’s kind of been the trend the last couple games, just gotta figure out how to take that first half and move it to the second.”
Oklahoma City holds a 31-point scoring advantage over the Lakers in the third quarters of the series thus far. That effectively has doomed L.A. but Reaves isn’t quite sure what the root cause of that is.
“I don’t know,” he responded when asked about the Lakers’ third-quarter woes. “I’ll have to watch the film.”
When further questioned on how to prevent the Thunder from going on extended scoring runs, a sense of frustration understandably bubbled to the surface.
“That’s basically the same question,” Reaves said. “If I had the answers, we would not be struggling.”
Austin Reaves in spotlight
Reaves is only five games into his return after missing nearly one month due to a Grade 2 left oblique injury. There was some rust in two games against the Houston Rockets, and Reaves has largely struggled against a physical and versatile Thunder defense.
He did respond with a strong effort in Game 2, but Saturday saw him make just five of 13 field goals. Reaves did have a team-leading nine assists but also led all players with five turnovers. He and the Lakers will need to improve in all facets if they not only are to avoid elimination on Monday night but come back from a 3-0 series deficit, which no team in NBA history has ever accomplished.
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