The Lakers once again saw a tight game turn into a double-digit loss on Thursday. LA held a lead midway through the third but again saw the Thunder pull away in the fourth to win by double digits, 125-107.
The purple and gold had one of its best quarters of the postseason in the second, outscoring OKC 35-30 to lead by one at the half. They held the lead through the early stages of the second half before the Thunder took over and never looked back.
Nineteen LA turnovers turned into 26 OKC points while the Thunder also had 17 second-chance points and 48 points off the bench.
LA missed their first two shot attempts from behind the arc to start. OKC went up by as much as seven until Rui Hachimura converted on a midrange jumper to get the Lakers on the board.
Isaiah Hartenstein was off to a hot start for the Thunder with six points.
Hachimura was leading Los Angeles with five points, while LeBron was close behind with four. The Lakers surged on a 7-0 scoring run to tie the game. OKC had a quick response with their own 11-0 run.
Los Angeles was now shooting 33% from the field.
Jaxson Hayes and LeBron stopped the bleeding with back-to-back shots in the paint. Hachimura then splashed a triple that cut the deficit to four at the end of the first.
Jared McCain converted on a midrange jumper to open the second period. Ajay Mitchell provided a massive spark for the Thunder as he was up to nine points. Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves both knocked down much-needed 3-pointers for LA.
At the 7:50 mark, Oklahoma City was up by five.
Mitchell poured in four more points before he was subbed out. Reaves converted on his second three-point play in this half. He was the first player on the Lakers in double figures with 13, a much better showing and effort than Game 1.
Smart put LA up by one with four minutes left in the half.
Los Angeles continued playing well, with Luke Kennard and Hachimura both draining threes. With 2:13 now left in the half, the Lakers were nursing a tiny lead. Both teams spent the last minute of the half exchanging the lead, with the purple and gold heading into the locker room up one.
Chet Holmgren opened the second half with a jumper in the paint for OKC. Hachimura then continued his ridiculous shooting with another triple. Reaves scored on a midrange jumper before being fouled on the other end by SGA. The play was upgraded to a flagrant one along with Alex Caruso receiving a technical, so Reaves made three free throws in a row to give LA a five-point lead.
Lu Dort drained a 3-pointer to cut into the lead.
Reaves responded with a triple on the other end. The Thunder then scored four of the easiest points to make it a one-point OKC deficit. Cason Wallace converted on two free throws to put Oklahoma up by one.
OKC was up by seven at the 4:04 mark.
Everything was going in the way of the defending champs as they were on an extended 23-5 scoring run to give themselves a double-digit lead. The Thunder took full control, leading by 13 heading into the fourth.
After a pair of turnovers, Hachimura opened LA’s scoring with his signature midrange jumper. Los Angeles cut the deficit to six with a 7-0 run, with LeBron scoring five points.
The Thunder were forced to call a timeout.
Out of the break, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a layup. The Lakers were keeping close, but their turnover count was now at 19. With seven minutes left, it was an eight-point deficit for Los Angeles.
At the 5:53 mark, the Thunder were up by double figures after an 8-0 run.
The lead continued to grow as LA completely ran out of steam and didn’t have enough offense to keep it close. The Lakers waved the white flag with 2:14 left and down 17.
Key Player Stats
LeBron finished with 23 points and six assists. Reaves ended with 31 points and six assists. Hachimura notched 16 points, shooting an impressive 6-10 from the field and 4-7 from three.
Smart logged 14 points with five assists and four rebounds. Kennard had 10 points, Hayes scored six points to go with his three rebounds and two assists.
Game 3 will be on Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 5:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
