A rough offensive night for the Lakers left them struggling to find enough scoring to keep up with the Thunder in Game 1 as they fell to OKC, 108-90.
After a fast start to the contest, LA trailed OKC for the final three quarters. However, the lead would ebb and flow as the purple and gold had brief runs that seemed to get them back into the game.
Each time, though, the Thunder had a response to gain breathing room once more. By the end of the game, the Lakers had run out of gas as OKC had repeatedly
found answers to the problems LA presented them.
The Lakers shot 41.7% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line. They turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 20 points for OKC.
LA started hot offensively, going up by seven early. OKC eventually caught up and tied the game, but LeBron continued his hot shooting. He was cooking with 10 points, the first player from either team in double figures. Chet Holmgren was leading the Thunder with seven points.
At the 6:56 mark, it was a tie game.
The Lakers did a great job defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who only had three points on two shot attempts. Los Angeles was shooting 47% from the field, while Oklahoma City was at 42%.
At the 2:37 mark, LA was up by three.
Jaylin Williams scored on a triple to tie it up again as part of a 9-2 OKC run to take a five-point lead going into the second.
Both teams opened the second period missing their first shot attempts before Ajay Mitchell was fouled and converted on both free throws. Jared McCain then drained a 3-pointer, putting even more distance on OKC’s lead and forcing a timeout.
Ayton stopped the bleeding for LA with back-to-back baskets.
The Lakers cut the deficit to three thanks to Ayton scoring again and Luke Kennard converting on three free throws. Cason Wallace stopped Los Angeles’ run with a triple. OKC responded well, giving themselves a bigger lead.
Austin Reaves scored his first field goal on a layup.
After a dunk by Holmgren, Jarred Vanderbilt, who was defending him, doubled over in pain and went straight to the locker room. He would eventually be ruled out for the game.
Marcus Smart splashed his first 3-pointer of the half. SGA started cooking, scoring a quick four points to make it a double-digit lead for Oklahoma City.
Smart stopped OKC’s 8-1 run with a triple. With the half winding down, Kennard knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer. On the other end, LeBron stole the ball and took it all the way for a dunk to make it a single-digit deficit.
At halftime, the purple and gold were down by eight.
Mitchell opened the third with a layup for the Thunder. After a few missed attempts from Ayton, Holmgren dunked on the other end. He was now up to 20 points. Smart got the Lakers on the board with a midrange jumper.
LA continued to hang around with Smart scoring again, and Rui Hachimura knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game.
It was a seven-point deficit at the 8:03 mark. Los Angeles was playing good defense and doing well, keeping themselves within striking distance. Hachimura drained another triple and made it a four-point deficit.
SGA was up to five turnovers.
It didn’t matter as OKC scored seven in a row, forcing a timeout from Los Angeles. Out of the break, LeBron scored a bucket in the paint. The quarter closed on a four-point play by Mitchell. Going into the fourth, the Lakers were down by 12.
A Los Angeles turnover started the final frame. Luckily for LA, the Thunder missed on the other end, which led to Hachimura being fouled and converting one of two free throws.
Oklahoma City then scored four in a row, which included a dunk by Alex Caruso, to make it a 15-point game. McCain drained two triples in a row as OKC built the lead to 19 points.
The Lakers tried one last time to get back into the game, pulling within 14 points with 6:08 left after a Hachimura triple. However, it’s as close as they would get as, with 3:50 left, Oklahoma City went up by 17, sealing the win for the Thunder.
Key Player Stats
LeBron finished with 27 points, four rebounds and six assists. Ayton had 10 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Austin Reaves had a rough offensive game with eight points on 3-16 shooting to go with his five rebounds and six assists.
Smart pitched in with 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Hachimura put up 18 points, going 7-13 from the field. Kennard ended with seven points and five rebounds.
Game 2 will be on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 6:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
