The Oklahoma City Thunder’s athleticism and accuracy was in full effect in their Western Conference second-round Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday – which ended 90-108.
LeBron James (27-6-4) got reasonable help offensively, but not sufficient enough to combat the vast depth and precision the Thunder possess.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Austin Reaves struggled immensely. Reaves was a dismal 3-16 from the field for eight points, and was 0-5 from long range.
If Luka Doncic can’t return from his hamstring injury in time to assist the Los Angeles natives, this series will likely be over in four to five games.
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James: ‘Keep the main thing the main thing’
“This ain’t Shai versus the Lakers; it’s Lakers versus the Thunder,” James said of the match-up after their loss, quoted on ESPN.
“We’re down 1-0. That’s the main thing. Keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s who win or lose. That’s all it’s about.”
‘Wasn’t my best’ says Gilgeous-Alexander
Thunder star and likely back-to-back regular season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was an acceptable 8-15 FG for 18 points on the night, but had seven turnovers – too many for a West semi-final match-up.
“I was OK. It wasn’t my best. It wasn’t my worst,” SGA said of his performance.
“I was loose with the ball, had a lot of turnovers.
“I think that comes to the rust and not playing for a little bit. They’re obviously very aggressive, but I feel like for most of the night we got great looks.”
Holmgren: ‘Not SGA’s fault’
Chet Holmgren, who had a game-changing 24-12 performance on 53% shooting, came out in staunch defense of his star player.
“I think he made the right decision all night long,” Holmgren said.
“I think there were a lot of opportunities where we weren’t where we needed to be and he was expecting us to be there.
“We had a couple turnovers in the pocket like that where he threw it right to where we should have been and we weren’t there.
“In the stat book, those are his turnovers, but they shouldn’t be. We got to improve, be better, be where we need to be.”
The Lakers will remain in OKC for Game 2, which is fast-becoming an increasingly must-win contest if they’re to remain in the fight in this series.
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SportJustSport writers 
Geoffrey H. Latayan