Lakers Fall to Thunder 131-108, Face Elimination in Game 4

Thunder rout Lakers to take 3-0 series lead  

Oklahoma City used a 21-6 third-quarter run to blow past Los Angeles 131-108, moving one win away from sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Filling in for Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell had 24 points and 10 assists with zero turnovers as OKC beat the Lakers 131-108 to go up 3-0 in the series...

The Oklahoma City Thunder broke the game open with another dominant second half, defeating LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 131-108 on Saturday and leaving LA one loss away from elimination in the NBA playoffs.

Ajay Mitchell led the way with 24 points and 10 assists, committing zero turnovers as the Thunder went up 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Game 4 is set for Monday in Los Angeles, where the Lakers will attempt to pull off a comeback no NBA team has ever managed from a 3-0 deficit...

GAME 3 FOR OKC: AJAY MITCHELL'S TAKEOVER 🤯

24 PTS (new postseason career high)
10 AST (new postseason career high)
3 STL (new postseason career high)

Thunder will look to close out the series vs. the Lakers on Monday at 10:30 PM ET on Prime! pic.twitter.com/zmZ2pCrStS

— NBA (@NBA) May 10, 2026

“I'm not giving up on this series,” defiant Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We're going to try to win on Monday. We're going to try to extend the series and we're going to try to take this thing back to OKC.”

Even with the series moving to Los Angeles, the Lakers couldn't find a way to get the win they needed, still playing without injured scoring leader Luka Doncic.

Rui Hachimura paced Los Angeles with 21 points, while LeBron James finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.

Oklahoma City’s depth proved too much for the shorthanded Lakers in the end.

“That's the strength of their team,” Redick said.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled from the field, hitting just 7 of 20 shots, but second-year guard Ajay Mitchell stepped up in place of the injured Jalen Williams.

“He's a gamer,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who ended with 23 points. “It might be a shock to the world, but this is no shock to us.”

Like in Game 2, the Lakers held a two-point edge at halftime, powered largely by 11 first-half threes.

Once again, the Thunder blew the game open in the third, coming out of the break on a 21-6 run.

From there, the game slipped away. The Lakers shot just 8-for-22 from the field in the third quarter and hit only one three. Turnovers started piling up, and Oklahoma City extended the lead to 27 in the fourth.

“We'll absolutely be aiming to finish off the Lakers on Monday,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. The Thunder, who swept Phoenix in round one, are looking to close out the series in Game 4.

“We would never want to waste an opportunity to win a basketball game,” he said. “We've got to do the same thing we did in the first three games - be the aggressor, play the right way together.

Final pic.twitter.com/KdYgGdWxdd

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 10, 2026