The Los Angeles Lakers were targeting Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday as their opportunity to get into the series. They had lost Game 1, 108-90, on Tuesday, and everyone knew they had to get their offense going to have a shot at victory.
For a period of time, it looked like perhaps they were going to get the job done in this contest. The Lakers missed each of their first five shot attempts, and while the Thunder went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter, the Lakers responded with seven unanswered points. In the second quarter, Los Angeles started to execute well and hit shots consistently. During that period, it went 13-of-20 from the field and got hot from 3-point range, allowing it to take a 58-57 lead at halftime.
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With 10:34 left in the third quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for his fourth foul on a flagrant 1 call and headed to the bench for the rest of the period. With the Lakers up 66-61, it looked like they had a golden opportunity to take control of the game. Instead, Oklahoma City went on a 22-5 run shortly afterward and took a double-digit lead, and Los Angeles ended up committing seven turnovers in the third quarter. L.A. had no punches left to throw, and it fell in a 125-107 defeat.
While L.A. shot 50% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range, it lost because of an old bugaboo: turnovers. It gave the ball up 21 times, which led to 26 Oklahoma City points, and it also allowed 17 second-chance points. Even worse, L.A. got only four fast-break points and attempted five fewer free throws than its opponent, leaving it unable to make up for its lack of ball security.
On the other end, the Lakers held reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 22 points, but it was a balanced attack that killed them. Chet Holmgren also scored 22 points, Ajay Mitchell had 20 points and Jared McCain threw in 18 points off the bench. As a team, the Thunder made 55.6% of their shot attempts.
The Purple and Gold will try again to get on the board in this series when it shifts to the Southland for Game 3 on Saturday. At this point, Game 3 is a virtual must-win contest for them.
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Smart was the only Lakers player who was in positive territory in the plus/minus category during this game. His defense helped them be competitive for a good stretch of the evening, and he notched five assists to go along with four rebounds and one steal.
But once again, he failed to give them a boost offensively. He was 4-of-13 from the field and missed all but one of his seven 3-point tries, and while he scored 14 points in 34 minutes, he needs to start hitting from the outside for the team to have any chance of making this series competitive.
Ayton helped out on the boards with 10 rebounds in 27 minutes. However, it was a struggle offensively for him in this game. Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren provided the Thunder with excellent rim protection, and Ayton managed to make just one of his seven shot attempts in the first half against that defense. He didn’t attempt a single shot afterward, and he ended up with just three points.
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Ayton’s defense, both near the rim and on the perimeter, also left something to be desired. He is another Los Angeles player who needs to manufacture more offense moving forward.
Hachimura provided some ample scoring early with 11 points in the first half, and as has been the case since the playoffs started, it almost seemed as if he couldn’t miss from long range. But he cooled off afterward and attempted only two shots in the third quarter, which was when the Lakers needed more scoring from him.
He ended up with 16 points on 6-of-10 overall shooting and 4-of-7 from downtown. In 39 minutes, he also contributed four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
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Reaves had both of his first two shot attempts blocked near the rim. But from that point on, he started to look like his usual self for the first time since before he suffered the oblique strain that recently kept him out for nearly a month.
He scored 13 points in the first half, and he didn’t let up for the rest of the game. He ended up making 10 of his 16 shot attempts and going 3-of-6 from downtown and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, giving him a game-high 31 points. He was able to get to the rim and draw fouls with enough regularity, and that is a good sign moving forward for him.
However, Oklahoma City’s defense on Reaves was tight, and there were times when he was harassed out of his usual rhythm, which resulted in him committing five turnovers. But he also dropped six assists and added two rebounds, and it seems as if he may be back in game shape and rhythm just enough.
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James wasn’t very aggressive offensively early, but he still managed to put up 10 points and five assists in the first half. But the Lakers needed him to put his stamp on the game in the third quarter, and he continued to be a little too passive, as he scored just four points in that period. He also created very little pace or transition opportunities, and he didn’t attack downhill off the dribble as often as one might expect him to. A number of his baskets in the paint came off passes from his teammates when he had already established deep position down low.
He finished with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, six assists, two rebounds and three steals. But his team needed more than that from him in such a crucial opportunity game.
Kennard finally broke out of his slump and gave Los Angeles 10 points in 26 minutes on 4-of-5 overall shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, plus one rebound. But he should’ve been more aggressive in looking for his shot, and his teammates and coaching staff need to do a better job of running plays and actions to get him open.
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He is a very potent offensive weapon who has been underutilized ever since Game 3 or Game 4 of the first round against the Houston Rockets.
Hayes made all three of his shot attempts and scored six points, and in 15 minutes, he also had three rebounds, two assists and one block. But he looks overmatched by both Holmgren and Hartenstein in this series, as he lacks the size to contend with Hartenstein and isn’t tall enough to successfully contest shots taken by Holmgren.
It was the same old story for LaRavia in this game: very little, if any offense, and little else in other categories. He attempted two shots and missed both of them, went scoreless and finished with one assist and one steal.
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All four men came in for the final 2:14 of this game, and Thiero had two brief stints earlier in the evening. Thiero had three rebounds, and Knecht scored one basket on his only shot attempt, got one rebound and had a careless turnover where he threw the ball into the scorer’s table. Smith and the younger James had one assist apiece, and Smith scored two points on 1-of-3 shooting. Thiero and the younger James both went scoreless.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. loses by 18, falls behind 2-0 to Thunder
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
