LOS ANGELES — Despite claims from the Oklahoma City Thunder that their performance hasn’t been flawless during their championship defense, their unblemished playoff record tells a different story.
At the midway mark of the postseason, their spotless record speaks volumes.
Oklahoma City secured their second consecutive series sweep of the season on Monday evening, defeating the determined Lakers 115-110 in the fourth game of the second round. The Thunder dominated LeBron James and Los Angeles throughout the entire season with an 8-0 record — and the title holders now stand at 8-0 in this year’s playoffs following consecutive eliminations of Phoenix and Los Angeles.
While head coach Mark Daigneault acknowledges room for growth and issues to address, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emphasizes that their mission remains incomplete.
Nevertheless, the Thunder have established themselves as the premier team in basketball with this playoff run following their commanding regular season performance, as they pursue the NBA’s first consecutive titles since Golden State achieved the feat in 2017 and 2018.
Sam Presti’s relentless organization appears nearly unstoppable as it advances to the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive season and the sixth occasion in the last 16 years.
“We’ve done our job so far, that’s all it really means,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve gone out there, we’ve executed, we played at a high level and we’ve been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. That’s all it really means. And nothing is guaranteed. In the playoffs, no two games are the same, especially when you change opponents. So the challenges are all coming up, I guess you can say.”
Their upcoming challenge involves facing either the San Antonio Spurs or Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals — following additional rest days compared to those teams, who remain deadlocked before Tuesday evening’s fifth game.
However, whichever team survives that intense battle will confront the league’s most formidable obstacle in the fluid, unstoppable Thunder, who seem to be performing at an even superior level than during last season’s championship run.
“We’ve been very, very good,” Daigneault said. “I thought we had more lapses tonight than we had had in previous games, so we have to learn from that. Obviously we have to play better in more of the 48 minutes, but I also think the wind is going to be in your face in a playoff game for different reasons at different times, and you’ve got to be able to recenter. I thought we did that exceptionally well.”
Oklahoma City had never achieved consecutive playoff series sweeps, nor had the former Seattle SuperSonics franchise.
Los Angeles suffered three blowout defeats against Oklahoma City before finally producing one competitive contest. The Thunder found themselves behind during a fourth quarter for the first time this postseason, and their five-point victory marked their narrowest margin of the spring.
Yet Oklahoma City mounted a comeback, as they consistently manage to do.
Gilgeous-Alexander contributed nine of his 35 total points during the final quarter. Ajay Mitchell, the reserve guard who has emerged as a standout performer during Jalen Williams’ injury-related absence, delivered 10 of his career playoff-best 28 points in the same period. Chet Holmgren provided perhaps the most crucial baskets, including a decisive dunk with 32.8 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma City celebrated a closing quarter that appeared to showcase significant contributions from every player who entered the game. Moments afterward, they returned to their focused mindset.
“Everything that we’ve done so far is behind us,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We still have a huge target on. We have two more series to win to reach our ultimate goal, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick and his coaching staff seemed to develop an unexpected, successful strategy to disrupt the Thunder’s offensive players — yet it failed to significantly affect the final score.
Daigneault discovered learning opportunities during his team’s dismantling of the Lakers, who deployed double-team pressure against Gilgeous-Alexander and other primary ball-handlers at a frequency not witnessed since Oklahoma City’s playoff matchup with Denver last season.
Perhaps most concerning for the Thunder’s future adversaries, they have absorbed lessons and enhanced their play based on the Lakers’ limited achievements.
“It really had us having to sharpen our attacks, but I thought we did a great job of that,” Daigneault said. “Down the stretch, we had some big-time plays (with) high-lows, traps, and we had a dunk for Chet. That was a great attack, and I just thought we showed great execution of that. So I think we’re a lot better in that area than we were coming into the series.”
