The Los Angeles Lakers got into the playoffs by defeating the Sacramento Kings in the final play-in game on Friday night. Their reward, to face the number one seed Thunder in the first round. These two teams have met twice in the postseason with both teams taking a series while eliminating the other. The Oklahoma City Thunder came out focused and followed their game plan to perfection. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, scored eight of the teams first sixteen points and finished with 14 points in the quarter while leading the Thunder to a ten-point lead, 34-24 after one. The Thunder led by as many as twelve in the first half, when Isaiah Joe buried a three-pointer, giving the Thunder a 44-32 lead. While the Lakers were able to keep Gilgeous-Alexander from causing them any more trouble, that opened it up for Chet Holmgren who scored the last five points for the Thunder in the half as they took a 58-50 lead into halftime. LeBron James scored six of the first eight points for the Lakers and brought them to within one of the Thunder, 59-58, but the Thunder regrouped and extended their lead to sixteen towards the end of the third, 85-69. The Lakers scored the last five points to cut the lead to eleven, heading into the fourth, 85-74. In the fourth quarter the Lakers started heating up and their defense started to get stops. Lugentz Dort's layup gave the Thunder and 95-83 lead, then the Lakers went on a 14-0 run to take the lead 97-95 on a layup from LeBron James. Back-to-back dunks by James and Davis gave the Lakers a four-point lead, 101-97, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored the next six points for the Thunder, tying the game up at 103-103. Lugentz Dort buried a three-pointer that gave the Thunder back the lead, 106-103 and they would hold on for a game one victory over the Lakers, 109-103.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 | 26 | 24 | 29 | 103 | |
34 | 24 | 27 | 24 | 109 |
LeBron James - 38 points (18-of-32 FGs), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks
D'Angelo Russell - 19 points (7-of-12 FGs, 4-of-7 3Ps), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
Anthony Davis - 14 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Austin Reaves - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Spencer Dinwiddie - 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Player Stats
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 29 points (13-of-23 FGs), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Chet Holmgren - 29 points (12-of-19 FGs), 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 10 blocks
Josh Giddey - 15 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal
Lugentz Dort - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Isaiah Joe - 10 points, 1 assist
Team Stats
Lakers | Stats | Thunder |
39-of-89 (44%) | FGM-A | 44-of-94 (47%) |
9-of-25 (36%) | 3PM-A | 11-of-29 (38%) |
16-of-20 (80%) | FTM-A | 10-of-13 (77%) |
8 | FAST BREAK POINTS | 13 |
54 | POINTS IN THE PAINT | 48 |
12 | 2ND CHANCE POINTS | 6 |
15 | BENCH POINTS | 22 |
9 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 6 |
43 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 40 |
29 | ASSISTS | 28 |
5 | STEALS | 12 |
5 | BLOCKS | 15 |
15 (7) | TURNOVERS (PTS OFF) | 8 (17) |
James throwing it down with aggression
Reaves off the inbounds for two
James attacking the rim for two
James going right at the defense for two