Lakers again falter after halftime in Game 2 loss to the Thunder
Austin Reaves has a bounce-back performance with 31 points, but the defending champions dominate after halftime to open a 2-0 series lead.
Thunder center Chet Holmgren, left, and Lakers guard Austin Reaves fight for a rebound in the first half of Game 2 on Thursday night in Oklahoma City. (Nate Billings / Associated Press) The effort was being provided by all the Lakers at a high level and it was being led by LeBron James and Austin Reaves. But the Lakers are facing the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals and it is a chore that remains too heavy for Los Angeles.
Even with Reaves recovering to score 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting and handing out six assists and James collecting 23 points and six assists, the Lakers still lost Game 2 of the best-of-seven series, 125-107, Thursday night at Paycom Center. The Lakers trail the series 2-0, with Game 3 back in Los Angeles at Crypto. com Arena on Saturday night.
The odds have now increased against the Lakers winning this series. In NBA history, only 34 teams have recovered from a 2-0 hole to win a best-of-seven series, while 431 teams have gone on to win the series. The Lakers even did a very good job again on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, throwing double teams at him to hold the All-Star guard to 22 points.
Lakers forward LeBron James. left, tries to drive past Thunder guard Luguentz Dort during the first half of Game 2 on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. (Nate Billings / Associated Press) Chet Holmgren had another strong game with 22 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks and Ajay Mitchell had 20 points for the Thunder.
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