LOS ANGELES — When the Lakers took a 3-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets in their first-round playoff series, Coach JJ Redick didn’t mince words on what they needed to do to send their foes packing.
“You have to kill them,” Redick said. “It’s difficult to kill someone. You’ve got, again, survival instincts says, ‘I want to stay alive.’ And so, you got to be able to kill them. That’s what (it takes).”
The Lakers couldn’t stop the kill on the other end of the equation, however, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-110, in Game 4 of their second-round series on Monday night, swept into an offseason of uncertainty. Game 4 was the only game of the best-of-seven series in which the Lakers were competitive until the final buzzer.
Trailing by one after Thunder big man Chet Holmgren dunked through a group of Lakers for a 111-110 lead with 33 seconds left, LeBron James took his one-on-one matchup with former Lakers guard Alex Caruso head on. The 41-year-old star, playing potentially his final NBA game, forced up a driving bank shot with 20 seconds left. The ball clanked off the rim, Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander collected it and was sent to the line for two free throws, which he drained.
Down 113-110, guard Austin Reaves had a look from the left wing and took it, but his 3-point attempt was off as well, allowing the Thunder to escape with a five-point victory.
Reaves led the Lakers with 27 points on 8-for-16 shooting, to go with seven assists and six rebounds, while James finished with 24 points on 8-for-18 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. It only made sense, however, that in the game when the Lakers had the best chance of winning, Gilgeous-Alexander showcased why he’s the favorite to repeat as league MVP.
The Canadian star recorded 35 points on 11-for-22 shooting, while leading Oklahoma City with eight assists. Ajay Mitchell, who was a thorn in the Lakers’ side throughout the series, scored 10 of his 28 points in the frantic fourth quarter, as the defending champs improved to 8-0 in the playoffs.
The Lakers led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter, after Reaves drained a 3-pointer over Caruso as the shot clock expired with 7:54 remaining. But it was the Lakers’ final glimmer of sending the series back to Oklahoma City for a Game 5, as 19 turnovers for 22 Thunder points bit the Lakers once more in a series when they struggled to take care of the basketball.
They kept it close down the stretch with big baskets from Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter. A Holmgren dunk with 2:03 left put the Thunder ahead 109-103, but Hachimura coolly converted a four-point play. Marcus Smart then drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled in the final minute, converting a three-point play for a 110-109 Lakers lead, setting the stage for Holmgren’s go-ahead basket.
The Lakers won the third quarter for the first time all series – 39-31 – to take an lead into the fourth quarter (84-80) for the first time. Backup center Jaxson Hayes stamped the quarter with a pair of high-flying dunks. Trailing by seven, Luke Kennard drilled a second-chance 3-pointer off the bench before Reaves forced Gilgeous-Alexander to foul him on a 3-pointer.
Reaves sank three free throws to bring the Lakers within one point with 2:49 remaining in the quarter. He’d make two more to give the Lakers a 76-75 lead.
The loss, however, might track back to the second quarter. As each Lakers shot clanked off the backboard, the rim, or swam through the air without contact from a player or apparatus, the absence of star Luka Doncic became even more critical.
The Lakers sure could have used the league’s leading scorer – seated on the bench in a black bomber jacket – when the Thunder were pouring in 17 unanswered points to open the second quarter, a powerful combination of the might Oklahoma City had showcased throughout series.
Doncic ultimately didn’t play in the playoffs while nursing a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, still weeks away from the eight-week timetable that he repeatedly said after Game 1 was always the expected length of time he would be sidelined.
Maybe it was fitting that the Lakers were wearing their black too on Monday night, considering the six-minute-and 22-seconds lull of scoring that erased their biggest lead (five points) they had in Game 4 and sent them tumbling toward elimination.
More to come on this story.