OKLAHOMA CITY — JJ Redick said he learned from the regular season.
The Lakers’ head coach shared he would be quicker to call timeouts when the Oklahoma City Thunder went on runs. So, he called four timeouts in the first half alone Tuesday night in an attempt to avoid kill shots, keeping their deficit within single digits at halftime while LeBron James carried the brunt of the offensive effort.
Redick acquiesced before Game 1 of their second-round playoff series that the Lakers “sucked against this team,” referring to their 0-4 record against the Thunder during the regular season, three of those games coming in blowout fashion. Marcus Smart said that his coach was being nice. The Lakers, he said, were “ass” in the quartet of defeats.
In Tuesday night’s series opener, the Lakers lost again to the Thunder, 108-90 in a valiant effort by their previous standards, but they did showcase some of the traits they will need to have any chance to defeat the reigning NBA champs in the second round. The 18-point loss was the Lakers’ second-most competitive showing against the Thunder this season.
“I don’t think there was a turning point,” Redick said of the Game 1 defeat. “I think it was a general theme throughout the night. When we made game-plan mistakes, it bit us. … You’re playing the world champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not high.”
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. PT at Paycom Center.
LeBron James led the Lakers with a game-high 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting to go with six assists, while Rui Hachimura, whose 3-pointer brought the Lakers within four points in the third quarter, added 18 points. Deandre Ayton continued to assert himself in the paint with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), while Smart finished with 12 points and seven assists but shot just 4 for 15 overall.
The Lakers forced 16 turnovers – seven of them charged to reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ended the night with 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting – but Oklahoma City forward Chet Holmgren paced the Western Conference’s top-seeded team with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Finding a less-than-sharp Thunder team on Tuesday, the Lakers were within striking distance for most of the night.
But on a night when the hosts were a little off their game, the Lakers still needed to be close-to-perfect. Redick shared postgame that they won the in-house expected score tally. He referenced holding Gilgeous-Alexander under 20 points (who holds a regular-season streak of 20-plus points per game dating back to November 2024) and felt that the Lakers played “hard.”
And yet, by the final buzzer, they still weren’t close.
The Lakers were down by eight points late in the third quarter when Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell drilled a 3-pointer from the corner as Smart clipped him on the way down. Mitchell made the ensuing free throw to complete a four-point play for an 84-72 lead – a margin that continued to grow in the final period.
Fewer than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein poked loose a Smart pass intended for Ayton. Thunder guard Alex Caruso collected the ball and raced to the rim for a one-handed dunk, extending Oklahoma City’s lead to 88-73 and forcing Redick to burn his penultimate timeout. The Thunder led by as many as 21 points in the fourth.
“They can go on a run where it’s like, ‘Okay, we got it right here, two-possession game, three-possession game,’ and then boom – it’s a double-digit lead,” James said. “And that’s what some of the great teams do, so just can’t have compound mistakes over and over.”
In his third game back after missing nearly a month with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, Austin Reaves had just eight points on 3-for-16 shooting, proof that there remains plenty of rust to kick off his game. For the Lakers to have any hope in the series, they’ll need their second-leading scorer to shoot with higher efficiency as Luka Doncic remains out with a left hamstring strain.
When asked about “finding a rhythm,” returning from injury after almost a full month out, Reaves didn’t take solace in excuse.
“Nobody cares about that,” said Reaves, who is shooting 30% since returning for Game 5 of the first round. “I got to go out there and play better.”
James added on Reaves’ Game 1 struggles: “We know he’s going to make shots and make plays, but that’s tough. To be out a month towards the end of the season. So, obviously we’re trying to fast-track, him getting back on the floor and doing the things that he was doing before the injury. … But his presence alone helps us no matter what.”
The Lakers did lose one of their role players off the bench midway through the second quarter, which could further hamper their depth. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who was attempting to contest a Holmgren alley-oop attempt that gave the Thunder a 48-39 lead with 5:55 left in the first half, slammed his right pinky finger against the backboard.
Vanderbilt screamed in pain as he fell to the floor, needing assistance to leave to the locker room while he grasped at a source later told the Southern California News Group was a right finger injury. Thunder players turned away in anguish as the 27-year-old faced the Oklahoma City bench with his right hand extended toward his foes. The team announced at halftime that Vanderbilt, who exited the locker room after the game with a brace and tape over his right hand, would not return.
“He was audibly screaming, and you knew he had done something,” Redick said. “So we’re obviously disappointed that happened. It’s just a freak injury.”
Tuesday’s final box score will say that the Lakers’ largest lead was seven points. That came when they scored the first seven points of the game. Reality also states that the Lakers sorely miss Doncic, who watched his seventh playoff game from the bench in street clothes, making his way to center court on occasion to plead with officials on behalf of his teammates.
“We have a guy (Doncic) that averages 37 a game? 33 and a half,” James said when asked about the Lakers’ offense. “… There’s the issues right there. We’re playing against the number one defensive team in the NBA as far as the ratings and everything.”
The Lakers shot only 41.7% (35 for 84) from the field and 30% (10 for 30) from 3-point range, while the Thunder shot 49.4% (42 for 85) overall and 43.3% (13 for 30) from long range.
The Thunder also had 21 second-chance points, 10 more than the Lakers.