Thunder pull away from Lakers in NBA playoffs, while Pistons down Cavs
Key takeaways
- Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons take 2-0 leads in respective NBA playoff semifinal series.
- Elsewhere, Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit are also up 2-0 after a 107-97 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- In Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander was again below his best, but he was amply supported.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons take 2-0 leads in respective NBA playoff semifinal series.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives into the paint [Joshua Gateley/Getty Images via AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff and AFPPublished On 8 May 20268 May 2026The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away late to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 125-107 in an NBA playoff thriller, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and finalist for the award this season, scored 22 points and the Thunder capitalised on 21 Lakers turnovers on Thursday to hand LeBron James a defeat in his 300th career playoff game.