3 takeaways from Lakers’ Game 2 loss vs. Thunder

Winning on the road is tough, but beating the Thunder in OKC feels impossible.

The Lakers did a lot right in their Game 2 loss. They got a much better offensive game from Austin Reaves, won the points-in-the-paint battle 52-46 and Rui Hachimura remained elite, scoring 16 points on 60% shooting.

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But the Thunder outscored the Lakers 36-22 in the third quarter to turn this game from a close contest to a blowout win for OKC.

Now, JJ Redick and the Lakers find themselves down 2-0 in this series and head home still looking to play a full 48 minutes.

Perhaps the uncomfortable truth is they just don’t have the personnel to play such a perfect game.

Losing the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander minutes

There are plenty of reasons the Lakers lost, but the main culprit was their play in the third quarter, particularly when Shai-Gilgeous Alexander was off the floor.

SGA went to the bench after earning his fourth foul at the 10:34 mark. With Reaves knocking down three subsequent free throws, LA was in front by five.

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This was a golden opportunity for the Lakers to take advantage. Winning the minutes when SGA is off the floor is something Lakers head coach JJ Redick said was necessary after practice on Wednesday.

Apparently, the purple and gold didn’t get the memo.

Chet Holmgren began feasting inside. Then Jared McCain scored five straight points, and after Jaylin Williams knocked down a three and was fouled on the shot, the crowd erupted and LA’s lead had evaporated.

The Thunder continued to pile on, going on a 32-14 run while SGA watched from the bench. This was the turning point of the game as the Lakers never led again.

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LA has done a great job containing SGA. He scored 18 points in Game 1 and only scored 22 on Thursday.

However, OKC is so dominant because of its tremendous team. The Lakers have allowed McCain to torch them in both games. Chet has been great as well, and Ajay Mitchell once again had another strong performance. If LA doesn’t find a way to contain them, this will be a sweep.

Welcome back, Austin Reaves

One of the silver linings was the play of Reaves. He struggled massively in Game 1,…

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Publish date : 2026-05-08 05:27:00

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