Ajay Mitchell adds to breakout year in Thunder's Game 3 win over Lakers

At this point, Mitchell has become a household name. Jettisoned to the starting lineup out of necessity with Jalen Williams' injury, he's been a seamless fit as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Robin. He one-upped his momentum on the road as the Thunder faced the hardest version of Los Angeles it'll see this series.

Slicing through their defense, Mitchell had 18 points in the second half. That included nine in the final frame as the Thunder followed the same script where the second-unit offense turned this lopsided. Nobody could stay in front of the drive-heavy guard. Once he had a few blue-collar finishes, his confidence oozed over to his pull-up jumper — even if the Lakers had textbook contests.

The playmaking was also next level. That's not really Mitchell's strong suit, per se. But against the Lakers' dissolving defense, it was too easy for him. He found teammates hanging around the rim. And he also sprayed it out to the perimeter. Everything is going right for the 23-year-old. It's amazing just how quickly he's ascended as one of OKC's best players. It's completely changed their dynamics as a team.

“He's just finding his footing. It's obviously his first run in the playoffs and it's obviously a different ball game. He's just getting more and more comfortable as the game goes on, as the series goes on," Gilgeous-Alexander said about Mitchell. "I said this before, he had a rough game, but he was so confident after. I was never worried that he wasn't gonna figure it out and he's shown that.”

The Thunder have had Gilgeous-Alexander turn in a subpar series and have received zero contributions from Williams. Both were OKC's best two players in their playoff run last year. It hasn't mattered one bit. Running it back with mostly the same group, Mitchell has shown that he's ready for the bright lights — even with minimal experience heading into the NBA playoffs.

"I think the biggest thing for me was just going out there and being confident. I know what I can do. I think when I go out there, I just want to compete and help this team win and play freely, have confidence," Mitchell said. "I think obviously, my teammates give me a lot of confidence in the coaching staff. So it's been amazing to see that."

Through nearly the first two rounds, the Thunder have felt different these NBA playoffs. Last year, they were a little more vulnerable. You could tell it was a group that had little postseason experience. But a championship ring later, there's a moxie surrounding OKC. And seven straight low-stress wins starting the playoffs this year is tangible proof of that feeling.

"I think it's more about our team and how we approach Game 3, especially this year. We knew what happened last year. We had a couple of slips in Game 3s," Mitchell said. "We knew right away this year that we wanted to take care of that and be better in those games. Just be ourselves."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Ajay Mitchell adds to breakout year in Thunder's Game 3 win over Lakers