It took a second, but the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a very convincing win on Tuesday night.
The Thunder, after a full week off, cruised to a blowout 108-90 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. That gave them the early 1-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinals series.
Advertisement
They’ve now won six straight postseason games dating back to their NBA Finals win last season, after their opening-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns, which matches a franchise record.
Thunder pull away in the second half
While the Lakers got off to a quick start, and James had 12 points in the first quarter, the Thunder ended the period on a 9-2 burst to snag a five-point lead and full control of the contest.
James kept the Lakers in it by halftime. He shot 7-of-11 from the field and had 16 points in the first 24 minutes to keep the game within single digits. The Lakers lost Jarred Vanderbilt due to a finger injury in the first half, too, after he smacked the backboard hard trying to block Chet Holmgren. Vanderbilt doubled over in pain instantly, and the Thunder bench grimaced significantly after getting a look at his hand. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Vanderbilt sustained a full dislocation of his right pinky finger.
Advertisement
The Lakers briefly got the game to just four points early in the third, but that was as close as they got. The Thunder rattled off seven straight points, capped by a huge Lu Dort 3-pointer and a quick Cason Wallace steal and layup, to take the game right back. Ajay Mitchell then hit a corner 3-pointer of his own, and drew a foul on the way down, to convert a four-point play near the end of the period to give the Thunder a 12-point advantage entering the fourth.
Oklahoma City kept pushing, too, and forced two quick turnovers not even 90 seconds into the final period. The latter was converted into an easy dunk from Alex Caruso, who slammed the ball against his forehead in celebration as the Lakers called a timeout.
That spark was more than enough to power the Thunder the rest of the way to the 18-point win. The momentum that the Lakers had out of the gate simply never returned.
Advertisement
James finished with 24 points and six assists for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura added 18 points, and DeAndre Ayton finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Lakers committed 17 turnovers in the loss.
Austin Reaves had a rough offensive night, too, which didn’t make things any easier for Los Angeles. He had just eight points and went 3-of-16 from the field.
Holmgren led the way for Oklahoma City with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points after he went 8-of-15 from the field, though he had seven of the team’s 14 turnovers. Mitchell had 18 points, too, and Jarred McCain added 12 off the bench all from the 3-point line.
Advertisement
It’s only Game 1, but the Thunder appear to be very capable of handling the Lakers in this series and making a run to defend their title. If Vanderbilt is out for an extended period of time, and Luka Dončić isn’t able to return this series after his long hamstring injury, the Lakers may be in trouble.