The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the Western Conference finals Monday night with a nail-biting 115-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, wrapping up a dominant four-game sweep that may have marked the end of LeBron James’ tenure in Los Angeles.
Leading the charge for Oklahoma City was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who put up 35 points in the series-clinching performance. The Thunder received strong support from Ajay Mitchell, who contributed 28 points, while Chet Holmgren chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds. Jared McCain rounded out the scoring effort with 13 points as Oklahoma City extended their perfect playoff record to 8-0.
“I mean, we’ve done our job so far,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s all it really means. Gone out there, we’ve executed, we played at a high level, and been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. That’s all it really means and nothing’s guaranteed.”
The defending NBA champions will now await their next opponent, either the Minnesota Timberwolves or San Antonio Spurs. Oklahoma City shot an impressive 51.9% from the field while holding Los Angeles to 50.7% shooting. The Thunder dominated the season series against the Lakers, winning all eight matchups including regular season contests.
For Los Angeles, Austin Reaves led the scoring with 27 points while Rui Hachimura contributed 25 points and five rebounds. The Lakers now face an uncertain offseason with potential major roster changes on the horizon.
“For the things that we set out to do and build our championship habits and build our championship communication, I thought we were darn close to doing that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to win a championship, but I take a lot of pride in our players and what they all individually went through, what we collectively went through, and what we turned out to be.”
The 41-year-old James finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds in what could be his final appearance as a Laker. After 23 seasons in the NBA, James is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me obviously as it stands right now tonight,” James said. “I got a lot of time to sit back like I think I said last year after we lost.”
Jaxson Hayes provided additional scoring for the Lakers with 18 points. Los Angeles played the entire playoff series without Luka Doncic, who suffered a hamstring injury during an April 2 game against Oklahoma City.
The game’s decisive moments came in the final seconds when Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to give the Thunder a 113-110 advantage. Reaves had a chance to tie the game with a three-point attempt at the 8.3-second mark but came up short. Mitchell sealed the victory by converting two free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining.
The contest featured several momentum swings throughout the evening. Los Angeles overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit with a 22-9 run, taking a 76-75 lead with 2:03 left in the period after Reaves scored seven straight points. The Lakers carried an 84-80 advantage into the final quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers built a 92-87 lead before Mitchell sparked an 8-0 Thunder run, capping it with a three-point play to put Oklahoma City ahead 95-92 with 6:14 on the clock.
The final minute was filled with dramatic plays as Hachimura connected on a four-point play, followed by a three-point play from Marcus Smart that gave Los Angeles a 110-109 edge with 40.9 seconds left. Holmgren answered with a crucial dunk to restore the Thunder’s lead at 111-110 with 32.8 seconds remaining.
James missed a potential go-ahead floater over Isaiah Hartenstein with 20.3 seconds left, and both Reaves and Smart were unable to connect on late three-point attempts that could have changed the outcome.
“They threw a lot of (defensive looks) at us,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of the Lakers, “and I think we’re a better team at the end of the series than we were at the beginning, and that’s a credit to them.”
