After upsetting the Houston Rockets in the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers look to do so again in the second round, although they are facing a much tougher test in the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers went into Game 1 as heavy underdogs as Luka Doncic remains out of the lineup, and that’s exactly how it played out as the Thunder took a 1-0 series lead with a 108-90 win.
It was a great start for the Lakers as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead with LeBron James scoring five points before Lu Dort got the Thunder on the board with a 3-pointer.
The Thunder immediately responded with a 9-2 run to tie the game. Austin Reaves then got fouled and James hit his second triple, but Oklahoma City also got to the free throw line to take its first lead at 16-14.
L.A. was making life tough on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander early, while James was getting whatever he wanted offensively. Once James went to the bench, Rui Hachimura started to get going offensively, but so did Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder led 31-26 at the end of the first.
The Thunder scored five straight to begin the second quarter, taking their first double-digit lead. After a timeout by the Lakers, Deandre Ayton had a nice response with three straight buckets.
Unfortunately, Jarred Vanderbilt hurt his finger trying to block a dunk attempt from Chet Holmgren and was eventually ruled out for the night. The Lakers had a hard time stopping Holmgren, who was scoring with ease inside.
While the Lakers were flirting with disaster, Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard hit back-to-back triples to get back within single digits at 61-53 going into the halftime locker room.
Smart began the third quarter with back-to-back buckets and then Hachimura had a pair of triples as the Lakers quickly got back within four. Every time the Lakers made a run though, the Thunder answered it as Austin Reaves was struggling offensively and turned the ball over twice.
While James was doing what he could to keep his team within striking distance, a four-point play by Ajay Mitchell gave the Thunder an 84-72 lead at the end of the third.
The Lakers appeared to run out of gas early in the fourth as Alex Caruso was making plays on both sides of the ball and Jared McCain got hot to stretch Oklahoma City’s lead to 19.
Thunder vs. Lakers playoff schedule
Game 2: Thursday, May 7, Paycom Center, 6:30 p.m. PT, Prime
Game 3: Saturday, May 9, Crypto.com Arena, 5:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 4: Monday, May 11, Crypto.com Arena, 7:30 p.m. PT, Prime
Game 5*: Wednesday, May 13, Paycom Center, TBD
Game 6*: Saturday, May 16, Crypto.com Arena, TBD
Game 7*: Monday, May 18, Paycom Center, TBD
*If necessary
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