Star-less Lakers throttled by Thunder in third straight loss

Luke Kennard #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against Chet Holmgren #7 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during an NBA basketball game, Tuesday April 7, 2026 in Los Angeles, Calif. LOS ANGELES — It was a near-impossible quest for a star-less Lakers team against the NBA's Goliath, the Thunder. Los Angeles came out of the gates matching Oklahoma City's energy with a closer-than-expected first quarter.

Then, as each quarter and minute went by, the margin slowly separated for the undermanned Lakers, falling to the Thunder 123-87 on Tuesday night at Crypto. com Arena for their third loss in a row. The Lakers went in already down Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves and then lost LeBron James hours before due to foot management and Jaxson Hayes after his warm-ups with left foot soreness.

After a 34-27 end to the first quarter, the Thunder went on to outscore the Lakers 89-60 the rest of the way. "For 18 minutes we fought hard," coach JJ Redick said. In those first 18 minutes of the game, the Lakers tied the game twice and found energetic sequences that woke the crowd behind 10 points in the opening quarter from Drew Timme.

But the Lakers couldn't find any cushion to get a lead. The Thunder poured it on from 3 at a high rate, totaling 21 on the night. Oklahoma City made 50.