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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers, one again, were so close.
But they kept getting in their own way in their 125-107 Game 2 loss to the Thunder at Paycom Center.
The Lakers had too many self-inflicted wounds, like their 21 turnovers for 26 OKC points.
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Or the 17 second-chance points they allowed the Thunder to score, wasting the strong moments of halfcourt defense they had.
“We played well in spurts,” LeBron James said. “We had some really good minutes, obviously through three [quarters]. They were able to take a five-point lead in the third quarter and they made a run. Obviously, they kept scoring and they’re really good at exploiting matchups and things of that nature. But we had a good game plan. We tried to execute it as close to 48 minutes as possible, but it just didn’t get done.”
The Lakers had too many self-inflicted wounds, like their 21 turnovers for 26 OKC points. AP
Or the 17 second-chance points they allowed the Thunder to score, wasting the strong moments of halfcourt defense they had. NBAE via Getty Images
Even with Austin Reaves bouncing back from a purtid Game 1 performance with a playoff career-high 31 points to go with 6 assists, Game 2 was defined by the Lakers’ mistakes.
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And the Thunder capitalized off them.
“They do a good job of capitalizing off turnovers,” Luke Kennard said. “Obviously, that’s going to be a big thing for us. We knew that going into it, their physicality. We gotta stay poised, under control when they go on those runs. I think we’ve done a pretty good job overall, but it’s gonna take a full, full 48 minutes.”
James had 23 points and 6 assists.
Rui Hachimura (16 points) and Kennard (10 points) combined for 26 points, but the Lakers wasted a strong shooting night (50% from the field, 37.9% on 3s).
Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 22 points. Ajay Mitchell recorded 20 points and 6 assists, while Jared McCain had 18 points off the bench.
LeBron James had 23 points and 6 assists. AP
What it means
The Lakers are now trailing 2-0 in the…
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Publish date : 2026-05-08 04:52:00
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