Lakers player grades: L.A. loses by 18, falls behind 2-0 to Thunder
It may not be a surprise to anyone, but the Lakers now trail the Thunder 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Los Angeles Lakers were targeting Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday as their opportunity to get into the series. They had lost Game 1, 108-90 , on Tuesday, and everyone knew they had to get their offense going to have a shot at victory. For a period of time, it looked like perhaps they were going to get the job done in this contest.
The Lakers missed each of their first five shot attempts, and while the Thunder went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter, the Lakers responded with seven unanswered points. In the second quarter, Los Angeles started to execute well and hit shots consistently. During that period, it went 13-of-20 from the field and got hot from 3-point range, allowing it to take a 58-57 lead at halftime.
With 10:34 left in the third quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for his fourth foul on a flagrant 1 call and headed to the bench for the rest of the period. With the Lakers up 66-61, it looked like they had a golden opportunity to take control of the game. Instead, Oklahoma City went on a 22-5 run shortly afterward and took a double-digit lead, and Los Angeles ended up committing seven turnovers in the third quarter.
L. A. had no punches left to throw, and it fell in a 125-107 defeat.
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