OKLAHOMA CITY — JJ Redick spent the weeks after the All-Star break repeatedly sharing that despite being on their way to a comfortable playoff berth, the Lakers were still a team in search of an identity.
In March, that identity was forged. The Lakers churned out 16 wins in 18 games. LeBron James sprawled across the court like superman for loose balls, something he then admitted he didn’t think he had done before in an NBA game. That identity – a hard-nosed, gritty style of basketball – was on display in Game 2 of their second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
The Lakers led at halftime and trailed by just five points in the fourth quarter against a team they had struggled mightily against in their first five meetings this season. Austin Reaves, a glaring missing piece in the series opener, bounced back with a playoff career-high 31 points, but that wasn’t nearly enough for the Lakers to overcome their 21 turnovers in a 125-107 defeat.
“We tried to execute (the game plan) as close to 48 minutes as possible, but it just didn’t get done,” James said with Game 3 on the horizon, trailing the best-of-seven series 2-0. Tip off Saturday is at 5:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
Reaves shot 10 for 16 from the field and 3 for 6 from 3-point range to go with six assists, while James – who spent much of the game exasperated with the officials – added 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting along with six assists.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said of the officiating on James during Game 2, leading to just four free throw attempts for the 41-year-old who played his 300th playoff game Thursday night.
At the final buzzer, Reaves led a horde of Lakers players and staff to center court, where they came face to face with the game’s officials. Expressively, Reaves plead his case – about what specifically, Redick nor any Lakers players said after the game – to referee John Goble as James nodded in agreement, before the Lakers exited the floor to the locker room.
“We didn’t lose because of the refs,” Redick said of his Lakers, who shot 21 free throws compared to the Thunder’s 26. “That’s never the case. You don’t lose because of refs, you lose because the other team outplays you. And Oklahoma City outplayed us.”
Redick continued later in his postgame press conference: “I sarcastically said the other day, (Oklahoma City is) the most disruptive team without fouling. They have a few guys that foul on every possession and all good defenses do it.”
Despite the hullabaloo over Game-2 officiating, Lakers got back within five points at 99-94 when James – who didn’t take bait on postgame questions about officiating – scored in the paint with 7:36 left.
But Thunder big man Chet Holmgren made a 3-pointer over Lakers center Deandre Ayton. Alex Caruso picked off a poor pass by Marcus Smart on the following possession, and Holmgren drew a foul at the other end. In less than a minute, the Thunder pushed their lead back to double digits, where it remained until the final buzzer.
The Lakers had opportunities to steal a Game 2 victory at the Paycom Center. Oklahoma City jumped out to comfortable first-quarter lead – using an 11-0 run to open an 11-point lead after the Lakers knotted the score at 16 – but Rui Hachimura drilled a 3-pointer before the buzzer to bring the Lakers back within four points entering the second quarter.
Reaves, who had spent much of his first three games back from a Grade 2 left oblique strain that sidelined him for nearly a month, stumbling through the ebbs and flows of rediscovering his rhythm, finally unlocked a flow. He scored eight points in the second quarter before finding James for an alley-oop dunk and Jaxson Hayes for a floating layup to take a one-point halftime lead at 58-57.
“I thought he did a good job touching the paint and those tough shots were there tonight,” Redick said. “Got some good looks from three. Just he played a solid game. Obviously he had five turnovers, but everybody on our team had turnovers.”
After placing the Thunder into a halftime deficit for the first time in the 2026 playoffs, the Lakers had an official’s call go their way that could have turned the game in their favor.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Reaves tussled off the ball, with the Lakers leading 63-61 at the beginning of the third quarter as the league’s reigning MVP wrenched Reaves’ right arm, bringing him to the court as both benches erupted in reaction to what was called a personal foul on Gilgeous-Alexander.
Oklahoma City challenged the play, Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth personal foul, as the officials also reviewed the action for a flagrant foul. The Thunder lost their challenge as the officials deemed the play warranted a Flagrant Foul 1 penalty. That sent the star guard to the bench for the rest of the third quarter. Thunder guard Alex Caruso also earned a technical foul on the play, allowing Reaves to step to the free-throw line for a trio of free throws and that gave the Lakers a 66-61 lead, their largest of the game.
But from that moment onward, the final 10:34 of the third quarter, the Thunder proved their mettle through their depth. Oklahoma City closed the third quarter on a 32-14 run, taking advantage of eight Laker turnovers (of 21 total), as outside of Reaves – who added another 10 points in the period – the Lakers couldn’t sustain the drive they had showed to that point.
Thunder bench guard Jared McCain, a former Corona Centennial High standout, scored eight of his 18 points in the third quarter as the champs were able to lean on their ninth man without Gilgeous-Alexander on the court and take a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter.
For the second straight game, the Lakers appeared the best they had been against the Thunder this season. And yet, they suffered the same result as Game 1: an inspired performance, yet suffering the dominating wrath of the top team in the Western Conference.
“I think we had a chance tonight,” said Hachimura, who sunk four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points. “In the first game, too. Today was the closest, I think, we got to (winning).”
Luke Kennard added an efficient-yet-muted 4 for 5 from the field for 10 points off the bench.
Holmgren (22 points, nine rebounds, four steals, and two blocked shots) and Gilgeous-Alexander (22 points despite being limited to 28 minutes) paced the Thunder, who improved to 6-0 in the playoffs. Ajay Mitchell had 20 points and six assists for OKC, which finished with 26 points off the Laker turnovers and saw its bench outscore the Laker reserves 48-20.