Panic in LA? LeBron, Lakers fall into 3-0 hole against Thunder: Game 3 takeaways

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksMeet KAT's Biggest FanLottery Reform Is OverdueWhat Makes Up Championship DNA?Latest Mock DraftNBA Playoffs LeBron James and the Lakers have not been able to find traction against the deep and mighty Thunder. Harry How / Getty Images Share article6The Oklahoma City Thunder turned a decisive third quarter into a 131-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night and a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. After trailing by two points at halftime, the Thunder outclassed the Lakers in the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Thunder shot 59 percent from the field and rode a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the third to forge a 90-79 lead heading into the fourth. The Lakers shot 36 percent from the field in the third quarter. Austin Reaves, who missed his only shot, committed three of the Lakers’ six turnovers in the third. Ajay Mitchell led the Thunder with a career-playoff-high 24 points, 18 of them after halftime, and registered 10 assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points and had nine assists, and Chet Holmgren had 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting and nine rebounds. Rui Hachimura scored 21 to lead the Lakers. LeBron James (7-for-19) had 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists. The Thunder have won all seven of their games this postseason. Their average margin of victory entering Game 3 was 17.5 points. Here are some takeaways from Saturday’s game. The second half continues to doom the Los Angeles Lakers against the machine that is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Over the first three games of this series, the Lakers have now been outscored by a combined 59 points. Ajay Mitchell was the engine this time for a Thunder team that grows more confident each night. He finished with 24, but the fact it was Mitchell who dominated just underscored the dominance the Thunder have shown in this series. They can hit the Lakers up and down from a variety of different places on the league’s deepest roster. The Lakers, without Luka Dončić, just don’t have a chance. At 41, LeBron James can’t be the guy the Lakers can lean on to continually pull them out of a funk. Austin Reaves went just 5-for-13 from the field and didn’t have the answer in the second half, either. After playing the Thunder tough all night, the Lakers couldn’t hit the gear they needed to contend in this series, against this team. The second half has been the difference each night in this series, and now the only thing the Lakers have to look forward to is that they have only one more left, on Monday night. — Nick Friedell The Lakers don’t have the depth to compete with Oklahoma City, so in a game Rui Hachimura has 21 and Luke Kennard scores 18, the Lakers have to get more out of their stars than they did Saturday. LeBron James and Austin Reaves combined for 36 points on 32 shots, James going 7-for-19. Reaves started 0-for-5 before ending up 5-for-13, but his five turnovers were a huge problem. OKC again feasted off the Lakers’ mistakes, scoring 30 points off 17 turnovers. The Lakers have one more chance to get a game from Oklahoma City, but it’s hard to see how they’ll pull it off. — Dan Woike Before Game 3, Lakers head coach JJ Redick discussed the quality of the Thunder roster. He noted that rookie Thomas Sorber was out with a torn ACL and 2024 lottery pick Nikola Topić was just getting back from multiple health challenges. But the Thunder are stacked with quality players, even with All-NBA star Jalen Williams nursing a hamstring injury. “The big thing with them is their depth,” Redick said pregame. “I mean, Mark (Daigneault) talked about it the other night. (Topić) dealt with some health stuff, and their rookie is dealing with some health stuff now coming back from his offseason surgery. Literally, the other 13 guys are all top-seven or -eight rotation players in the NBA on any team. So they can just hit you with bodies as well. Just the nature of how they built that team.” That was clear as ever in Game 3, the night the Lakers’ season effectively ended. Luka Dončić was the only unavailable player, but it felt like more than that. The Thunder reserves have pummeled the Lakers all series, most notably with Jared McCain’s shooting while Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso strap up. In Game 3, Wallace decided to add some scoring, blitzing the Lakers with 11 first quarter points to outscore the entire Lakers bench. Even with the Lakers leading by halftime behind the wind of fantastic shooting from Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard, it was clear that the Lakers were too thin and searching for answers that did not exist. Rookie Adou Thiero played early for the second consecutive game, and Jarred Vanderbilt stayed glued to the bench despite recovering from an off-hand finger dislocation. Jake LaRavia had played every single preseason, regular-season and postseason game. But he couldn’t keep up on defense while contributing little on offense, so he got a DNP-CD. The issue with that was Maxi Kleber was dusted off as LaRavia’s replacement in the nine-man rotation, and that didn’t work. The Lakers’ centers were effectively canceled. Deandre Ayton entered Game 3 having missed 12 of 13 field goals in the last six quarters. Ayton didn’t exactly make up for it in Game 3, while Jaxson Hayes failed to attempt a shot in nine minutes. Redick tried to get some minutes for Thiero at center — it didn’t work. Once the Lakers were outscored 14-0 off turnovers in the third quarter, this game (and this series) was a wrap. Bottom line, the Lakers have run out of players against the best team in the NBA. — Law Murray As Law noted above, JJ Redick said pregame that Oklahoma City has 13 players who’d be in the top eight of any rotation in the NBA. That the Thunder’s depth has punished his Lakers does not come as a surprise to his staff. But to make him look prophetic, pseudo-starter Cason Wallace scored 11 first-quarter points; Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of an injured Jalen Williams, detonated for 24 points and 10 assists; and despite Jared McCain’s impact through the first two games, coach Mark Daigneault found the liberty to decide Game 3 was an Isaiah Joe night, mostly because he can. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms