Lakers drop Game 1, as Thunder pull away in 2nd half

OKLAHOMA CITY — JJ Redick said he learned from the regular season.

The Lakers’ head coach shared he would be quicker to call timeouts when the Oklahoma City Thunder went on runs. So, he called four timeouts in the first half alone Tuesday night in an attempt to avoid kill shots, keeping his team’s deficit within single digits at halftime while LeBron James carried the brunt of the offensive effort.

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Redick acquiesced before Game 1 of their second-round playoff series that the Lakers “sucked against this team,” referring to their 0-4 record against the Thunder during the regular season, three of those games coming in blowout fashion. Veteran guard Marcus Smart said his coach was being nice. The Lakers, he said, were “ass” in the quartet of defeats.

In Tuesday’s series opener, the Lakers lost to the Thunder again, 108-90, in a valiant effort compared to their previous outings, but they did showcase some of the traits they need to have any chance to defeat the reigning NBA champs. The 18-point loss was the Lakers’ second-most competitive showing against the Thunder this season.

“I don’t think there was a turning point,” Redick said of the Game 1 defeat. “I think it was a general theme throughout the night. When we made game-plan mistakes, it bit us. … You’re playing the world champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not high.”

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. PT at Paycom Center.

James led the Lakers with a game-high 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting to go with six assists, while Rui Hachimura, whose 3-pointer brought the Lakers within four points in the third quarter, added 18 points. Deandre Ayton continued to assert himself in the paint with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), but their starting backcourt struggled. Austin Reaves was held to eight points while shooting 3 for 16 from the field, and Smart finished with 12 points and seven assists but shot just 4 for 15 overall.

The Lakers forced 16 turnovers – seven of them charged to reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ended the night with 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting – but Oklahoma City forward Chet Holmgren paced the Western Conference’s top-seeded team with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Finding a less-than-sharp Thunder team on Tuesday, the Lakers were within striking distance for most of the night. But on a night when the hosts were a little off their game following an eight-day break since their last game, the visitors still needed to be close-to-perfect. Redick shared afterward that the Lakers won the in-house expected score tally. He referenced holding Gilgeous-Alexander under 20 points – he holds a regular-season streak of 20-plus points per game that dates to November 2024 – and felt that his team played “hard.”

And yet, by the final buzzer, they still weren’t close.

The Lakers were down by eight points late in the third quarter when Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell drilled a 3-pointer from the corner as Smart clipped him on the way down. Mitchell (18 points) made the ensuing free throw to complete a four-point play for an 84-72 lead – a margin that continued to grow in the final period.

Fewer than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein poked loose a Smart pass intended for Ayton. Thunder guard Alex Caruso collected the ball and raced to the rim for a one-handed dunk, extending Oklahoma City’s lead to 88-73 and forcing Redick to burn his penultimate timeout.

Former Corona Centennial High star Jared McCain hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Thunder lead to 19 and start putting the game away. They led by as much as 21 before it was over.

“They can go on a run where it’s like, ‘Okay, we got it right here, two-possession game, three-possession game,’ and then boom – it’s a double-digit lead,” James said. “And that’s what some of the great teams do, so just can’t have compound mistakes over and over.”

Reaves struggled in his third game back after missing nearly a month with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, proof that there remains plenty of rust to kick off his game. For the Lakers to have any hope in the series, they need their second-leading scorer (23.3 ppg) to shoot with higher efficiency, particularly as leading scorer Luka Doncic (33.5 ppg) remains out with a left hamstring strain.

When asked about “finding a rhythm” after his extended absence, Reaves didn’t take solace in excuse.

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“Nobody cares about that,” said Reaves, who is shooting 30% from the field since returning for Game 5 in the first-round series against the Houston Rockets. “I got to go out there and play better.”

James expects Reaves will find his form, but he understands the struggle coming off an injury.

“We know he’s going to make shots and make plays, but that’s tough, to be out a month towards the end of the season,” James said. “Obviously we’re trying to fast-track, him getting back on the floor and doing the things that he was doing before the injury. … But his presence alone helps us no matter what.”

The Lakers did lose one of their key role players off the bench midway through the second quarter, which could further hamper their depth. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who was attempting to contest a Holmgren alley-oop attempt that gave the Thunder a 48-39 lead with 5:55 left in the first half, slammed his right pinky finger against the backboard.

Vanderbilt screamed in pain as he fell to the floor, needing assistance to leave to the locker room while he grasped at what a source later told the Southern California News Group was a right finger dislocation. Thunder players turned away in anguish as the 27-year-old faced the Oklahoma City bench with his right hand extended toward his foes. The team announced at halftime that Vanderbilt, who exited the locker room after the game with a brace and tape over his right hand, would not return.

“He was audibly screaming, and you knew he had done something,” Redick said. “So we’re obviously disappointed that happened. It’s just a freak injury.”

Tuesday’s final box score will say that the Lakers’ largest lead was seven points, but that came when they scored the game’s first seven points. The Lakers sorely miss Doncic, who watched his seventh playoff game from the bench in street clothes, making his way to center court on occasion to plead with officials on behalf of his teammates.

“We have a guy (Doncic) that averages 37 a game? 33-and-a-half,” James said when asked about the Lakers’ offense. “… There’s the issues right there. We’re playing against the number one defensive team in the NBA as far as the ratings and everything.”

The Lakers, who turned it over 17 times, shot only 41.7% (35 for 84) from the field and 30% (10 for 30) from 3-point range, while the Thunder shot 49.4% (42 for 85) overall and 43.3% (13 for 30) from behind the arc.

McCain, a trade deadline acquisition, scored 12 points off the bench as Oklahoma City’s reserves outscored their Laker counterparts 34-15.

The Thunder also had a 21-11 advantage in second-chance points while holding the Lakers to their lowest postseason total since 2021.

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