By Oliver Carter
The OKC Thunder have closed out their Western Conference second-round series against the LA Lakers in a 4-0 sweep.
The Thunder closed the series out in Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles on Monday night.
Story of the game
A must-win game for the Lakers to keep their season alive, and a possible closure for the reigning champions, game four held a lot of weight for both sides.
The game stayed very close in the first quarter, with the biggest lead coming in the Lakers’ favour as they took a five-point lead into the second quarter.
However, the Thunder shifted the momentum in their favour early in the second, pushing out to a game-high 12-point lead halfway through the quarter.
LA pushed the lead back down to four points, leaving the score at 49-45 at the half in favour of OKC.
OKC grew their lead back up to double digits before a late third quarter rally from the Lakers as they went on a 13-4 run to retake the lead headed into the final period.
The Lakers clung onto their lead until midway through the final quarter, where an Ajay Mitchell ‘and-one’ layup gave the Thunder the lead.
OKC would never give this lead back up, staying one score ahead until the final few possessions of the game, which Oklahoma City Thunder won 115-110.
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Game four standouts
In a hard-fought elimination game with 15 lead changes, multiple players are going to push themselves to the limit of their abilities.
Three members of the LA Lakers, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reeves and 41-year-old LeBron James all played over 40 minutes.
Hachimura ended with 25 points and five rebounds, Reaves had 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists and James had 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and a block.
OKC also had multiple standouts such as reigning MVP Shai Gilgous-Alexander, who had 35 points and eight assists alongside Ajax Mitchell with 28 points, four assists and four steals.
The Thunder also leaned on their bench depth with backup guard Jared McCain scoring 13 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter as the Thunder reclaimed the lead.
A 29-foot three-point bomb from McCain brought the score within two points and shifted the momentum heavily in favour of the reigning champions as they mounted their comeback.
What comes next?
What comes next for the Thunder is either the Minnesota Timberwolves for a rematch in the Western Conference finals or Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Thunder have time to rest and reset before their next matchup thanks to the sweep, while the Timberwolves and Spurs are currently tied 2-2 in a tight series.
LA on the other hand may have to re-assess some assets.
While they were missing this season’s NBA scoring champion, Luka Doncic, the Lakers still lacked some crucial parts of their team.
Most importantly the Lakers lack a true centre – while DeAndre Ayton has picked up some of his scoring form, a rotation of Ayton and Jaxson Hayes is not good enough either offensively or defensively.
The future of LeBron James also hangs in the balance – the 41-year-old has just finished his 21st season in the NBA and has fulfilled his dream of playing alongside his son.
If James chose to retire it would send shockwaves around the NBA while also freeing up 50 million dollars in the Lakers’ salary to help build around Luka Doncic.
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Geoffrey H. Latayan