{"id":3845,"date":"2026-05-10T14:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T14:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=3845"},"modified":"2026-05-10T14:53:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T14:53:27","slug":"lakers-have-contained-thunder-star-shai-gilgeous-alexander-but-it-hasnt-been-enough-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=3845","title":{"rendered":"Lakers have contained Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but it hasn\u2019t been enough"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 So that was the Lakers when they\u2019ve held Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to two of his least-threatening outings of not just the playoffs, but the whole of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Eighteen points in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series was the Oklahoma City Thunder star\u2019s lowest-scoring output of the entire season. Twenty-two points in Game 2, in which the Thunder beat the Lakers, 125-107, was just the 11th time in 2025-26 that Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points or fewer in a game.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=3844\">Jarred Vanderbilt available for Game 3; Lakers hope to get more out of Ayton<\/a><\/p>\n<p>So, that was the Lakers, who forced the league\u2019s reigning MVP into relative submission considering his talents and had an opportunity to grab a Game 2 victory when Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Those ensuing minutes could have been the fuel the Lakers needed to swipe a win in a best-of-seven series in which they\u2019re comfortably the largest underdog of any LeBron James-led team over his 23-season career. The Lakers could have knotted the series at one with an opportunity to win a game, or two, back on their home court in the days ahead.<\/p>\n<p>But it wasn\u2019t. Instead, the hosts didn\u2019t blink twice without Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor. The Lakers\u2019 sixth consecutive game against the Thunder this season, by final score alone, wasn\u2019t close again. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThem being plus-nine in the non-SGA minutes and then in the second half, we just got blitzed,\u201d Lakers coach JJ Redick said Thursday night after Game 2. \u201c32-14 (third-quarter run), seven turnovers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers need answers fast, whether or not they keep holding Gilgeous-Alexander well below his season scoring average (31.1 ppg), when Game 3 tips off Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to up our physicality,\u201d veteran swingman Luke Kennard said. \u201cObviously, we\u2019ve been putting two guys on Shai a lot. And kind of let some of those guys get open looks. But when Shai\u2019s off the floor, we really got to sit down and guard, and try to take some of those guys out.\u2029Our physicality has to go up another level, and we know that. And it\u2019s something we\u2019ll definitely talk about and, hopefully, figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=3843\">Angels catcher Logan O\u2019Hoppe optimistic about progress toward return<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Forward Rui Hachimura added that he feels like the Lakers focus on Gilgeous-Alexander \u201ca lot,\u201d and that he and his teammates need to spread the defensive attention to some of the other Oklahoma City players.<\/p>\n<p>Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell contributed 18 points in Game 1 and 20 in Game 2. Coming off the bench, guard Jared McCain \u2013 whom the Thunder acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers at the trade deadline \u2013 has tallied double-digit points in both games. In lieu of Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s productive-but-not-dominant performances, the Thunder\u2019s deep roster has stepped up to fill the void.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe focus on Shai a lot,\u201d Hachimura said. \u201cBut we have to give the others out there more respect. They are great players. They were making a lot of plays while Shai wasn\u2019t in there. He only played 27 minutes (in Game 2). Other guys made it (hard on us). I think we got to talk more about those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the Lakers faced the Thunder for the second time in the regular season on Feb. 9, Redick was asked about what Oklahoma City brings when Gilgeous-Alexander \u2013 who sat out that game while nursing an injury \u2013 is not on the court.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Redick called the Thunder, sans their MVP, \u201cdisruptive and physical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Disruption: playing nearly the entire third quarter without their best player and still turning a five-point deficit into a 13-point lead, became their bread and butter in Game 2. Physical: making the Lakers uncomfortable, mucking up their offensive flow for the final 10 minutes of the third, when the visitors had a prime opportunity to grow their lead.<\/p>\n<p>Try to stop Gilgeous-Alexander? Sure.<\/p>\n<p>But the Lakers need to find a recipe for playoff success with or without the 27-year-old star at the heart of the equation.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=3842\">Blue Jays\u2019 Dylan Cease sends Angels\u2019 hitters back into a slump<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND GAME 3<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Who:<\/strong> Thunder at Lakers (down 2-0)<\/p>\n<p><strong>When:<\/strong> Saturday, 5:30 PT<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where:<\/strong> Crypto.com Arena<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV\/Radio:<\/strong> ABC (Ch. 7)\/710 AM<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lakers have limited the reigning league MVP to 40 points through the first two games of their second-round playoff series, but they still lost each game by 18 points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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