Player grades: Thunder once again beat Lakers with 131-108 Game 3 win

This time, it was Cason Wallace's turn to enjoy some scoring fun. He had 11 points in the first quarter. The Thunder had a 31-25 lead at the end of the opening frame. With their season on the line, the Lakers delivered their deadliest punch yet to OKC.

Completely flipping things, the Lakers went on a 20-7 run in the second frame. Rui Hachiimura was on a heater from the outside. Other role players added fuel to the fire. It was the best Los Angeles has looked in all playoff series. Even when Gilgeous-Alexander created a semi-decent look, the shot kept hitting at the front of the rim. They only put up 26 points in the second frame. That put them in a 59-57 halftime hole.

Looks like the 15-minute break is all the Thunder needed to lock back in. They completely retook control of this game and booted the Lakers to the passenger's seat. It was OKC's turn to go on a massive run with 20-8. Gilgeous-Alexander snapped out of his funk. Chet Holmgren was an efficient play-finisher. They tallied 33 points in the third quarter.

At that point, the Thunder built up a 90-79 lead. Up by double-digit points, they were a solid finish away from basically putting the Lakers in their grave. Swinging momentum even more on OKC's side, a successful challenge flipped Lu Dort's costly fifth foul into an offensive foul for an illegal screen by Hachimura.

Stiff-arming the Lakers on the scoreboard, the Thunder ballooned their lead past double-digit points. Los Angeles just had zero offensive firepower to mount any sorta comeback. OKC scored an unreal 41 points in the final frame. They were able to clear their bench once again. The Los Angeles crowd slowly filed out.

The Thunder shot 56% from the field and went 17-of-38 (44.7%) from 3. They shot 8-of-10 on free throws. They had 30 assists on 53 baskets. Seven Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a modest 23 points and nine assists. Holmgren finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Mitchell was once again a budding star with 24 points and 10 assists. Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points and nine rebounds. Wallace scored 16 points. Isaiah Joe finished with 12 points. Dort had 10 points.

Meanwhile, the Lakers shot 47% from the field and went 14-of-30 (46.7%) from 3. They shot 18-of-25 on free throws. They had 31 assists on 38 baskets. Six Lakers players scored double-digit points.

James had 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Hachimura finished with 21 points and five rebounds. Reaves tallied 17 points and nine assists. Luke Kennard had 18 points and two assists. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton each put up 10 points apiece.

Business as usual for the Thunder. They remain an NBA win machine. After struggling in last year's playoffs, they've barely broken a sweat through seven wins in this postseason. Just unreal. You're seeing one of the greatest teams in NBA history make the playoffs look boring. To add to the impressiveness, they're doing it with a meh series by Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams being sidelined for most of the journey.

Now up 3-0, the Thunder are a win away from punching their ticket to the 2026 Western Conference Finals. The Lakers have looked leagues behind OKC at every step of the way. Feels like we're on a collision course to a heavyweight matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. That could determine who brings home the Larry O'Brien trophy.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B-minus

May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) fight for position on the court in the first half of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Getting a rare one-on-one look with Smart, Gilgeous-Alexander didn't need too many dribbles to decide his next move. Swaying back and forth, he went for the daring pull-up 3-pointer. The ball finally swished through for him as he put OKC ahead by over 20 points with under five minutes to go.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 23 points on 7-of-20 shooting, nine assists and four rebounds. He shot 3-of-7 from 3 and went 6-of-7 on free throws. He also had two blocks and one steal.

Little by little, Gilgeous-Alexander is figuring the Lakers out. The double-teams worked at first, but the shock value his dissipated. And getting one-for-one situations has been welcomed with a warm hug. The jumper is still out of whack for whatever reason, but he started to see the desired results as the game wore on.

Helping put this game away, Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine points in the second half. While his mid-range and outside jumpers were ice-cold, his drive-heavy approach bailed him out. Nobody on the Lakers could stay in front of him. So many resorted to fouling him to make him earn his points at the free-throw line.

Ultimately, the Thunder need Gilgeous-Alexander to play better. Maybe not against the Lakers. But definitely against the Spurs when that inevitably becomes official. That's probably the biggest difference between this year's and last year's squad — the supporting cast has basically put OKC up 3-0. All while the reigning MVP has looked anything but the part.

It's been a mixed bag of results for Gilgeous-Alexander. That should surely get fixed soon. Eventually, math will be on his side and his jumper should return to being invincible. But for right now, it just hasn't mattered. He's enjoyed the cushion of being backed by the NBA's deepest team who've looked primed to go back-to-back for the NBA championship.

Chet Holmgren: A

May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and center Chet Holmgren (7) defend a shot by Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) during the first quarter of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Rolling to the dunker spot, Holmgren mistimed his jump on Hartenstein's alley-oop pass. No problem. The All-Star one-handed the ball before he nonchalantly went up for the easy two-handed dunk. Once again, he had a superb-efficient scoring night against Los Angeles' faux frontcourt.

Holmgren finished with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds and one assist. He shot 0-of-4 from 3. He also had one block.

Playing in the house that Shaq partially built, Holmgren feasted inside the paint. The seven-footer was fed a handful of dunks and putbacks. Ramping up his scoring volume, those are the shot attempts that have been added to his usual diet. It's a smart game plan if the Lakers are willing to live life on the edge by constantly being at a numbers disadvantage.

With 12 points at halftime, Holmgren helped the Thunder put up video-game numbers. JJ Redick's smoke-and-mirrors defense is starting to wear off. With that, the seven-footer has been a constant scoring presence. That's not something you could've said for most of his career as OKC's third-fiddle option.

On defense, it was the same old story. The Lakers couldn't really pummel the paint. Of course, Holmgren played a huge role in that. Carrying over their regular-season dominance, you're seeing teams struggle to crack 100 points against OKC in these NBA playoffs.

Even considering last year's run that ended with a ring, Holmgren is at his apex right now. His scoring numbers have been consistently there all NBA playoffs. Mostly out of necessity. This was the closest he's looked to his Utah Summer League debut — with the stage obviously being a hundred times more consequential. We're seeing OKC's lone top-five pick on its roster grow up in front of our eyes.

Ajay Mitchell: A-plus

May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Grabbing Holmgren's miss, Mitchell rolled it back to the perimeter. He curled his way downhill. A driving lane opened up as several Lakers players looked at each other in confusion. The 23-year-old galloped to the rim for the and-one layup after Ayton shoved him from behind.

Mitchell finished with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 10 assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had three steals.

At this point, Mitchell has become a household name. Jettisoned to the starting lineup out of necessity with Williams' injury, he's been a seamless fit as 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.

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.

Cason Wallace: A

May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) steals the ball from Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Salvaging an impromptu possession, Wallace calmly walked into a pull-up outside jumper. Swish. The 22-year-old added to his hot outside shooting night as he pushed the Thunder's lead beyond 20 points in the final five minutes of the game.

Wallace finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, one assist and one rebound. He shot 4-of-6 from 3. He also had one steal.

Of all OKC's role players who could've exploded in the scoring column, it's a little surprising to see Wallace pop off. He's had back-to-back double-digit scoring points. He had 11 points in the first quarter alone as the Thunder dismantled the Lakers' makeshift defense from the jump.

Just been that type of Round 2 series for the Thunder. Everything is going their way with three straight blowout wins. Even Wallace has made the Lakers pay for their below-average defensive talent. And on that end for himself, he returned to making Reaves look pedestrian. That's been an individual matchup that OKC has embraced over the years.

Wallace hasn't really received the same type of love as others on the Thunder for his playoff performance, but he's really stepped it up. The outside shooting has gradually declined over the years. But he's turned it up in these first two rounds of the 2026 NBA playoffs.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder once again beat Lakers with 131-108 Game 3 win