The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 131-108, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. The Thunder remain undefeated in the postseason and have a remarkable 27-1 record since February with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court.
The Thunder-Lakers series hasn't been close.
(Harry How via Getty Images)
It will be the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, barring the most shocking comeback in the history of the NBA.
With a 131-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Thunder took a 3-0 lead on Saturday and remain undefeated through seven postseason games. They are 27-1 since the start of February in games Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played.
They go for the sweep on Monday in Los Angeles (10:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video). No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
The Lakers put up a fight for most of the game, The first half was back-and-forth and L.A. actually entered halftime with the lead, but they lost control when OKC opened the third quarter with a 21-6 run. They got the deficit back down to five points late in the third, and then the Thunder hit the gear only the Thunder are capable of hitting.
The Lakers waved the white flag by emptying their bench with 3:38 remaining in the game.
Once again, the Lakers succeeded in preventing an otherworldly game from Gilgeous-Alexander (23 points on 7-of-20 shooting), but OKC’s deep supporting cast again made that a non-issue. Six other players scored in double figures, and the team collectively shot 56.4% from the field and 44.7% from deep, with nine total turnovers.
There’s no telling how this series would have gone down had Luka Dončić been healthy (or Thunder star Jalen Williams for that matter), but the actual result has been as expected. The Lakers have pushed the Thunder at times, but never enough across an entire game. Every loss has been by double-digits.
The Thunder lead the series 3-0 against the Lakers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has contributed to the Thunder's undefeated postseason run and they are 27-1 in games he has played since February.
The Thunder have not lost a game in the postseason so far, remaining undefeated through seven games.
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Counting the regular season, the Lakers are now 0-7 against the Thunder this season with an average scoring margin of 25.4 points. The closest loss has been by nine points. The only game in which the Lakers were actually healthy at the start of the game was the April 2 date when Dončić and Austin Reaves both got hurt.