05/09/26 11:29:00
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05/09 23:28 CDT Thunder charge past Lakers 131-108 in Game 3 for another
blowout in the champs' 7-0 playoff run
Thunder charge past Lakers 131-108 in Game 3 for another blowout in the champs'
7-0 playoff run
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Ajay Mitchell had career playoff highs of 24 points and 10
assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their unbeaten playoff run to
the brink of another Western Conference finals with a 131-108 victory over the
Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the second round on Saturday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who
coolly improved to 7-0 --- both in these playoffs overall, and in their seven
games this season against LeBron James and the Lakers. Oklahoma City is the
NBA's sixth defending champion to start 7-0 in the following postseason after
three wins over short-handed Los Angeles by a combined 59 points.
Game 3 was remarkably similar to Game 2 in many respects: The Lakers again had
to fight desperately just to keep up with the champs into the third quarter,
only for the Thunder to run away with their usual merciless efficiency when LA
finally faltered. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma
City, which outscored the Lakers 33-20 in the third quarter and wasn't
threatened at all down the stretch.
"I think (the first half) wasn't our best half, and in the locker room we just
talked about it and knew that we had to adjust and be better," said Mitchell,
who continued his postseason emergence by scoring at least 14 points for the
sixth consecutive game. "I think we did a great job coming out of the half."
Game 4 is Monday night in Los Angeles.
James had 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Austin Reaves had 17
points and nine assists. But both stars struggled from the field to a combined
12 for 32, and 21 points from Rui Hachimura weren't enough to keep LA in
contention with the champs.
"We had moments in the first half that were really good for us," James said.
"In the third quarter, we didn't knock down shots, we didn't defend or get
stops and allowed them to take us out of the game."
Gilgeous-Alexander had his highest-scoring game of the series despite missing
nine of his first 11 shots amid another concerted defensive effort by the
Lakers on the NBA MVP, albeit with fewer double-teams than in the series' first
two games.
"These obviously haven't been my best performances," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
"But I think I've been able to help the team win, and that's most important. If
the rest of the playoff run or the rest of my career looked like what it looked
like the past few games, I'd be OK with it, because we won games."
Luke Kennard added 18 points for the Lakers, who have lost five of their last
six games since midway through the first round against Houston.
"They're an incredible basketball team," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "Third
straight game we're right there after 2 1/2 quarters. We tried different
lineups, different coverages. Still lost those minutes. Again, we've got to be
better, but I'm not giving up on the series. We're going to go try to win on
Monday. We're going to try to extend the series."
NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic missed his 14th consecutive game for the
Lakers since straining his hamstring April 2 in Oklahoma City. He is not
thought to be close to returning from an injury that often requires two months
of recovery.
Except for Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder all began Game 3 in another shooting
groove. Los Angeles still surged to a small halftime lead behind 16 points from
Hachimura.
Oklahoma City erased that lead with a methodical surge out of halftime, going
up by 13 in the third quarter.
Third-leading scorer Jalen Williams missed his fifth straight game for the
Thunder with a strained hamstring.
___
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