Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 115-110 victory over the Lakers on Monday, completing a four-game sweep in what potentially was LeBron James’ final game for Los Angeles.
Ajay Mitchell logged 28 points, Chet Holmgren produced 16 points and nine rebounds and Jared McCain added 13 points as the Thunder improved to 8-0 in the playoffs. Oklahoma City is set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves or the San Antonio Spurs in the next round.
“I mean, we’ve done our job so far,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s all it really means. Gone out there, we’ve executed, we played at a high level, and been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. That’s all it really means and nothing’s guaranteed.”
The defending NBA champions shot 51.9% from the floor while the Lakers shot 50.7%. Oklahoma City won all eight games against Los Angeles in 2025-26, including the regular season.
Austin Reaves put up 27 points while Rui Hachimura added 25 points and five rebounds for the Lakers, who head into the offseason with major changes possibly in store.
“For the things that we set out to do and build our championship habits and build our championship communication, I thought we were darn close to doing that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to win a championship, but I take a lot of pride in our players and what they all individually went through, what we collectively went through, and what we turned out to be.”
James, 41, amassed 24 points and 12 rebounds. He is now set to become an unrestricted free agent after a record 23 seasons in the league.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me obviously as it stands right now tonight,” James said. “I got a lot of time to sit back like I think I said last year after we lost.”
Jaxson Hayes added 18 points for Los Angeles, which played without Luka Doncic (hamstring) throughout its playoff run. Doncic was injured during a game at Oklahoma City on April 2.
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining for a 113-110 lead, and Reaves missed what would have been a game-tying 3-point attempt with 8.3 seconds left. Mitchell put the game away by sinking two free throws with 6.4 seconds to go.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before going on a 22-9 run to take a 76-75 lead with 2:03 left in the period after getting seven consecutive points from Reaves. Los Angeles extended its advantage to 84-80 heading into the fourth.
The Lakers led 92-87 before Mitchell capped an 8-0 run with a three-point play to give Oklahoma City a 95-92 lead with 6:14 remaining.
A four-point play from Hachimura, followed by a three-point play from Marcus Smart, put the Lakers up 110-109 with 40.9 seconds remaining. A dunk from Holmgren gave the Thunder a 111-110 lead with 32.8 seconds left.
James missed a floater over Isaiah Hartenstein with 20.3 seconds left before Reaves and Smart missed late 3-point attempts.
“They threw a lot of (defensive looks) at us,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of the Lakers, “and I think we’re a better team at the end of the series than we were at the beginning, and that’s a credit to them.”
–Field Level Media
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