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The Thunder used an explosive second half to beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 131-108 as Ajay Mitchell scored 24 points.
Published on May 10, 2026
Ajay Mitchell scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half, as the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the final 24 minutes en route to a convincing 131-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their second Western Conference series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and nine assists as the defending Thunder took a 3-0 lead in the playoff series on Saturday.
Chet Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds, Cason Wallace added 16 points off the bench and Mitchell had 10 assists.
“The confidence I’ve gotten from my teammates and our coaching staff has been incredible since Day 1,” Mitchell said. “That’s the key.”
The Thunder trailed by two points at halftime before outscoring Los Angeles 74-49 in the second half.
Rui Hachimura made a three-pointer and scored a team-high 21 points, and LeBron James added 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Lakers. Luke Kennard had 18 points off the bench, and Austin Reaves had 17 points and nine assists for Los Angeles.
The Thunder can complete the sweep on Monday in Game 4 in Los Angeles. No team in NBA history has come back to win a series from a 3-0 deficit.
“Absolutely,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of wanting to complete the sweep. “You never want to lose a chance to win a basketball game. We just have to do what we did (in the first three games).”
The loss dropped the Lakers to 0-7 this season against Oklahoma City, with a 25.1 point margin.
“They are very good from top to bottom, and they never take their foot off the gas,” James said.
The Lakers also missed NBA leading scorer Luka Doncic. Oklahoma is playing without its second-best quarterback, Jalen Williams. Both players are injury free.
Oklahoma City shot 56.4 percent from the field, including 17 of 38 from three-point range. Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 9 rebounds, Isaiah Joe scored 12 points on four three-pointers, and Luguentz Dort had 10. Wallace also made four three pointers for the Thunder.
The Lakers made 46.9 percent of their attempts and were 14 of 30 from beyond the arc. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton added 10 points each for Los Angeles, which converted 17, which led to 30 Oklahoma City.
“MVP (Gilgeous-Alexander) is 7 of 20 tonight, and he’s made our three games straight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It’s an amazing basketball team.”
