The Oklahoma City Thunder sealed a 4-0 Western Semifinals sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday with a 115-110 victory at Crypto.com Arena that ended the season for the Los Angeles Angels and opened debate about the future of LeBron James.
The Thunder, reigning NBA champions, are still perfect in this postseason and, after sweeping the Phoenix Suns 4-0, they once again put the Lakers on the fast track, missing Luka Doncic. The Slovenian missed all of his team’s playoffs with a hamstring injury and had to watch from the bench in the loss that ended the Lakers’ season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell tear apart Lakers
Shai Gilgeous Alexander signed his 26th postseason game with more than 30 points.
He finished with 35 points and eight assists, shooting 11-of-22 from the field.
The Canadian MVP made some spectacular plays in the tight end of the game.
But he did not hesitate to celebrate the performance of teammate Ajay Mitchell, who starred with 28 points, four assists and four steals on 12-of-19 shooting.
Mitchell made a key contribution for OKC and made the most of the opportunity to start in his team’s starting five due to the loss of Jalen Williams.
Chet Holmgren contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Lakers fought until the end, but paid for a 18-28 final score with the loss (Filed as: Thunder eliminates Lakers).
LeBron fights to the end, but Lakers crumble
LeBron James, who at 41 will be a free agent at the end of the season, had a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds, pending the outcome of his future.
The four-time NBA champion has not clarified his intentions for next season.
The Angelenos gave it their all, but it wasn’t enough against the defending champions.
Austin Reaves scored 27 points, Rui Hachimura scored 25 and Jaxson Hayes contributed 18 off the bench.
The Lakers had a good start to the game, but suffered a 14-0 run early in the second quarter that allowed the Thunder to take a 12-point lead at 38-26.
An intense fight then broke out, with both franchises exchanging partials and shining for effectiveness (Filed as: Thunder eliminates Lakers).
Thunder comes from behind in a heart-stopping finish
The Thunder were above 57% shooting in the third quarter, in which SGA scored twelve points and Ajay Mitchell scored ten, but the Lakers did even better.
They shot 76.5 percent and connected on five of their seven shots from beyond the arc to take their first lead since 26-24 in the second period at 73-72.
Both teams had a spectacular scoring pace.
Ajay Mitchell and Gilgeous Alexander held OKC offensively.
LeBron and Hachimura, including a four-point play, fueled the Lakers’ hopes.
The Angelenos were up 110-109 with less than a minute to play.
But OKC, with a dunk by Holmgren and free throws by ‘SGA’, managed to regain the lead and seal their round pass with a 4-0 score (Filed as: Thunder eliminates Lakers).
The Thunder remain perfect this season
QuéOnnda.com
Thunder awaits opponent between Spurs and Timberwolves
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The defending champions await one between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Finals.
In the other game played on Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers evened the series 2-2 against the Detroit Pistons.
They were fueled by Donovan Mitchell, who scored 39 of his 43 points in the second half.
After the break, Mitchell came back from the locker room unleashed:
He scored 16 points during the Cavaliers’ 23-0 run to open the second half.
He scored 21 in the third quarter and finished with 39 points after halftime, a record in an NBA playoff game (Filed under: Thunder eliminates Lakers).
With information from EFE
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