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Thunder Defeat Lakers 125-107 to Take 2-0 Series Lead
Oklahoma City outscored Los Angeles by 22 points in 33 minutes without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander across the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Thunder, defending NBA champions, lead 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 scheduled in Los Angeles. Los Angeles coach JJ Redick and players cited defensive lapses, turnovers and second-chance points as key issues.
May 9, 8:00 AM·2m read1 source
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The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 125-107 in Game 2 on Thursday to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals playoff series. The Thunder outscored the Lakers by 22 points across 33 minutes when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not on the floor in Games 1 and 2 combined.
They outscored the Lakers by 9 points in the 13 minutes he did not play in Game 1 and by 13 points in the 20 minutes he was on the bench in Game 2.
The Thunder hold a plus-14 scoring margin in the 63 minutes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played in the series. JJ Redick, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, said the Thunder were plus-nine in non-SGA minutes in Game 1. "And then in the second half, we just got blitzed, 32-14, seven turnovers.
They shot 14 free throws during that stretch," Redick said. " In the second half of Game 2 the Lakers were outscored 32-14 with seven turnovers while the Thunder shot 14 free throws. The Lakers lost the third quarter of Game 2 by a score of 36-22.
5 minutes of the third quarter after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was subbed out early after picking up his fourth personal foul. The Thunder had four offensive rebounds for nine second-chance points when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench during the third quarter of Game 2.
Com reported that Oklahoma City took advantage of the Lakers’ switching defense, with its big men grabbing offensive boards over the Lakers’ smaller players. Chet Holmgren scored 22 points with nine rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots in Game 2.
