LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers battled the Oklahoma City Thunder but were unable to even the NBA second-round series on Thursday, May 7.
Instead, the Lakers fall to 0-2 in the series and move one step closer to potentially being swept by the defending champions.
The Lakers continue to miss point guard Luka Doncic, and his absence is apparent after the Lakers turned the ball over 20 times, trying to move the ball around and generate some offense. The Thunder were able to produce 26 points off the Lakers’ turnovers.
Austin Reaves was responsible for five, while LeBron James and Marcus Smart each had three. Reaves did carry the offense, shooting 10-of-16 from the field for 31 points.
While the turnovers will likely be a topic of discussion internally, the Lakers remained vocal throughout and after the game about the fouls called by the officiating crew.
Coach JJ Redick was asked about the officials after the game and noted that James has only had five free-throw attempts over the first two games of the series.
“LeBron (receives) the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick told reporters after the game. “I’ve been with him for two years now, the smaller guys, because they can be theatrical, tend to get more fouls and guys built like LeBron, it’s hard for them.”
Austin Reaves and the Lakers just had a meeting with the refs after the game to share their frustration with them. pic.twitter.com/exHIVkrese
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 8, 2026
Redick also said the Thunder have “guys that foul on every possession,” which he noted all good defenses do. Still, he was left frustrated by the lack of calls.
“They’re hard enough to play. They’re hard enough to play. You gotta be able to just call it if they foul, and they do foul,” Redick said.
Reaves and James were seen postgame among a crowd near midcourt that consisted of other members of the Lakers and the officiating crew.
Reaves, in particular, was vocal with his displeasure.
“I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night,” Reaves told reporters. “… And when we were doing the whole tip ball and they were switching spots, I wanted to get on the other side because they had a guy on the other side, was just trying to keep an advantage. And he turned around and yelled in my face. I just thought it was disrespectful.”
James himself had very little to say about the referees after the game.
Q: JJ Redick was irate about the officials, how was that a factor in the runs OKC put together?
LeBron James: “We’re down 2-0.”
Q: Redick said you get the worst whistle of any superstar he’s seen, why do you think that is?
LeBron: “I don’t know” pic.twitter.com/QyPwxUd9Td— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 8, 2026
The Lakers remained aggressive during the game, matching the pace of the Thunder as the teams exchanged respective scoring runs before Los Angeles took a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
OKC managed to pull away in the second half after a 32-14 run during the third quarter, all while the Thunder’s star player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, was not on the floor.
The Lakers have the opportunity to overcome all that happened in Game 2, when the series moves to Los Angeles for the next two games.
The Thunder remain in a good place as the franchise has not lost a best-of-7 series when leading 2-0. Oklahoma City also improved to 6-0 during this postseason, having swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
When is Game 3 between Lakers and Thunder?
The Lakers will host the Thunder on Saturday, May 9. The game will air on ESPN at 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JJ Redick, Lakers bemoan refs after Game 2 loss to OKC Thunder
