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The series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder shifts to LA, where Game 3 will be held on Saturday. The purple and gold aim to protect homecourt by finally getting a win over the Thunder.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
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When: 6:30 p.m. PT, May 7
Where: Paycom Center
Watch: Prime Video
Despite a stronger all-around performance from Austin Reaves and a better overall effort to match the Thunder’s pace and style of play in Game 2, the Lakers once again failed to steal a win on the road. They came into Game 2 with a couple of solutions, but those were wiped out by more problems the Thunder presented.
Now down 2-0 in the series, time is ticking for Los Angeles to figure it all out.
The good news for the purple and gold is that they’re back home for Game 3, where they’ll look to capitalize on home court and fight their way back into the series.
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Match the Thunder’s depth
Putting aside all the talk about the officiating in this series, OKC has established that they simply have better depth than the Lakers.
Look at how the Thunder stepped up last game when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was off the floor. They went on a 32-14 run, led by Chet Holmgren, Jared McCain and Ajay Mitchell, who overwhelmed the Lakers. That can’t happen in Game 3 if the Lakers hope to win.
If anything, it’s Los Angeles’ role players that badly need to step up. What if Luke Kennard gets more than a total of five attempts from the field? How about more opportunities for Rui Hachimura, who has by far been the most consistent role player in this series? Can the Lakers shoot better in Los Angeles? Hopefully the supporting cast puts together their best performance yet.
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Control the controllable
In my preview for Game 2, I mentioned that the Lakers have to do a better job of rebounding and preventing second-chance opportunities. That absolutely didn’t happen, as OKC produced 17 second-chance points and, worse, took advantage of the Lakers’ 21 turnovers, which led to 14 fastbreak points. This was where the Lakers lost the game.
By now, the Lakers…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-vs-thunder-game-3-020450800.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-09 02:04:00
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