NBA: Lakers put up good fight but Thunder prove too much, take Game 1

Oklahoma City Thunder opened their Western Conference semifinal series in dominant fashion on Tuesday night, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-90, at home to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

Chet Holmgren powered Oklahoma City with 24 points and 12 rebounds, setting the tone on both ends of the floor. The Thunder, who entered the series undefeated in the playoffs after sweeping Phoenix in the first round, continued their strong postseason form with another convincing win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell added 18 points each, as Oklahoma City shot 49.4% from the field and 43.3% from three-point range. The Thunder’s bench also made a significant impact, outscoring Los Angeles’ reserves 34-15, with Mitchell contributing 12 points off the bench.

“I thought we were a little fast at the beginning anyways,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “That might’ve just been the layoff, we just hadn’t played in eight days so that’s some of it. You can’t be greedy with a playoff win. That was not a perfect game, but we won an imperfect game tonight, and that’s a good thing.”

LeBron James led the Lakers with 27 points, starting strong by scoring 10 of the team’s first 16 points. However, Los Angeles struggled to maintain consistency, shooting 41.7% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.

The Lakers stayed within reach through much of the game and trailed by just four midway through the third quarter. But Oklahoma City responded with a key surge, including a highlight play where Gilgeous-Alexander drew multiple defenders before finding Isaiah Hartenstein, who assisted Mitchell on a four-point play that pushed the Thunder lead to double digits heading into the fourth.

Early in the fourth quarter, back-to-back three-pointers helped Oklahoma City extend its lead to 19, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Lakers coach JJ Redick pointed to execution issues as a major factor in the loss.

“When we made game-plan mistakes, they hurt us,” Redick said. “You’re playing the world champs—your margin for error is not that high. We’ve got to clean that up.”

Jared McCain added 12 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, while the Lakers were led in support scoring by Rui Hachimura with 18 points and DeAndre Ayton with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Austin Reaves struggled in his return from injury, finishing with eight points on 3-of-16 shooting.

The Lakers’ 90 points marked their lowest postseason output since 2021, underscoring Oklahoma City’s defensive pressure throughout the night.

Oklahoma City now holds a 1-0 series lead as the teams prepare for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. -Field Level Media/Reuters