Thunder pull away in second half to defeat Lakers in Game 1

3 4 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. OKLAHOMA CITY — Lakers coach JJ Redick was succinct about what it was like for his group to face the defending NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder during the regular season. “We sucked against this team,” he said pregame. The Lakers lost all four regular-season games against the Thunder by double figures, making L.A.’s 108-90 defeat to Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs just another big loss to the talented Thunder. LeBron James led the Lakers with 27 points and six assists while Rui Hachimura had 18 points, but Austin Reaves had only eight points, shooting three for 16 from the field. The Lakers doubled-teamed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander frequently, limiting him to 18 points and forcing him into seven turnovers. But the Thunder just turned to Chet Holmgren, who had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, driving to the basket against Lakers guard Austin Reaves, finished with 18 points on eight-of-12 shooting from the field and six assists in Game 1. (Kyle Phillips / Associated Press) The Lakers shot only 41.7% (35 of 84) from the field and 30% (10 of 30) from three-point range while the Thunder shot 49.4% (42 of 85) from the field and 43.3% (13 of 30) from deep. The Lakers didn’t help themselves at the beginning of the fourth quarter, turning the ball over on two of their first three possessions. When Marcus Smart, who finished with 12 points on four-of-15 shooting and seven assists, turned the ball over to Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso waltzed in for a layup, the Lakers went down by 15 points and had to call a timeout with 10 minutes and 41 seconds left to regroup. They fell into a 19-point hole in the final 12 minutes of play and never recovered. The Lakers lost by almost 30 points per game in their four-game series against the Thunder during the regular season, and one of the games was a 43-point shellacking. But the Lakers found their groove in the first round against the Houston Rockets and that has fueled their belief in this series against the Thunder. “We’ve been able to execute, even just going back to the last three games of the regular season,” Redick said. “Again, we kind of had to reset with not a lot of time and build something a little bit new on the fly. I think our guys were able to find their way and find their way from an execution standpoint, and for the most part, did a good job of that on both ends in the Houston series. Lakers guard Austin Reaves makes one of his three baskets on a layup against Thunder center Chet Holmgren, but Reaves finished with only eight points on three-of-16 shooting from the field in Game 1. (Kyle Phillips / Associated Press) “This is a different team and the best team, and it’s going to require more. I think every round that you advance in the playoffs, you need to elevate all of the stuff even more. …That’s our attention to detail, that’s our belief, that’s our poise. We got to be great in all those areas.” The Lakers talked every practice about the runs the Thunder go on and how they had to limit them. Well, it happened at the end of the first quarter, when Oklahoma City scored the last five points of the period, and it happened at the outset of the second quarter, when the Thunder scored the first five points to open a 10-point lead. Redick leaped off the bench to call a timeout with 10:36 left in the second to get things back in order for the Lakers. The Lakers recovered, but they then went down 56-43 in the second quarter and had to recover again. They did, pulling to within 61-53 at the half. Note: Lakers reserve forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured his right finger in the second quarter and didn’t return. Vanderbilt tried to block a dunk by Holmgren, but instead hit hand on the backboard and went down in pain.

Thunder pull away in second half to defeat Lakers in Game 1

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Thunder pull away in second half to defeat Lakers in Game 1

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