The Los Angeles Lakers were never truly equipped to take down the Oklahoma City Thunder. That reality was evident during the regular season, whether or not Luka Dončić was on the floor, and it became painfully clear in the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder opened the series in Oklahoma City with back-to-back 18-point victories, then poured in 131 points in Game 3—the most a visiting opponent has scored against the Lakers in a playoff game in over four decades.
“I wish I had found stuff on the film, particularly defensively, that I liked,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before Game 4. “I wish I did.”
Throughout the first three games, the Lakers defended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander aggressively, aiming to force the reigning MVP’s teammates to carry more of the scoring load. They succeeded in holding Gilgeous-Alexander under 25 points in three straight games—his longest such postseason stretch since 2020. But those teammates capitalized on the defensive attention, lighting up the Lakers from all over the floor.
In Game 4, the Lakers battled valiantly, leading at the end of the first quarter for the first time in the series and holding a lead with 40.9 seconds left after a Marcus Smart and-1. Yet they fell 115-110 and were swept, undone by their defensive shortcomings. The final lead change of the series came on a fitting play: a dunk in the restricted area. The Thunder called a timeout to set up a two-for-one opportunity. Gilgeous-Alexander ran a pick-and-roll with Isaiah Hartenstein, was trapped by the Lakers, and dished to Hartenstein, who found a cutting Chet Holmgren for the dunk.
Holmgren dominated the paint throughout the four games, shooting 22-of-23 from the restricted area. It highlighted a season-long struggle for the Lakers, who ranked as the second-worst rim-protecting team in the NBA in 2025-26, allowing the second-highest opponent field-goal percentage in that zone—only the Utah Jazz were worse.
What made the Lakers’ defensive struggles so pronounced was that the Thunder had a different player dominate each zone of the floor:
Holmgren ruled the restricted area, a key factor in Oklahoma City’s 53.4% field-goal shooting for the series. Shooting guard Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured All-NBA guard Jalen Williams, led the team with 9-of-17 shooting from the non-restricted area paint (floater range). Gilgeous-Alexander hit 13-of-28 on midrange jumpers outside the paint, finally breaking through in Game 4 with a series-high 35 points on 11-of-22 shooting. Reserve Cason Wallace led the Thunder in corner 3-pointers, making 4-of-6—his third-quarter hit in Game 4 gave Oklahoma City its largest lead of the night. Backup guard Jared McCain led the team with 9-of-16 shooting on above-the-break 3s in the series. While the Lakers made three more corner 3s than the Thunder, Oklahoma City connected on 13 more above-the-break triples.
Mitchell was the biggest revelation. He led the Thunder in field goals with 36, with 32 coming inside the arc—the same number by which the Thunder outscored the Lakers from inside the 3-point line. Oklahoma City outscored Los Angeles by 64 points in the series, meaning the teams were even if you removed all of Mitchell’s 2-point baskets. That should sting the Lakers most: without their second-best perimeter scorer Williams, the Thunder still got production from Mitchell that would have made Williams proud.
Mitchell relentlessly targeted Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who was returning from an oblique injury. Reaves performed well offensively but was outplayed on both ends, committing eight turnovers in Game 4—twice as many as Mitchell had in the entire series. Mitchell, a second-round pick out of UC Santa Barbara in 2024, scored nearly twice as many points in Game 4 (28) as the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht had in his entire seven-game postseason career (15).
Dončić was the only Lakers player unavailable for Game 4, but it felt like more. Redick played just seven players more than three minutes: the starting five of LeBron James, Reaves, Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton, plus reserves Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes.
This was total domination. The Thunder grabbed eight more rebounds despite seven fewer offensive boards, made 10 more 3-pointers while attempting 10 fewer free throws, forced 23 more turnovers, and outscored the Lakers by 46 points off turnovers, 28 on the fast break, and 12 on second chances.
It was the fourth-most lopsided series in Lakers franchise history. The last time they were outscored more was in a 2013 first-round sweep against the San Antonio Spurs (by 75 points). That series also featured a missing star (Kobe Bryant), and the Lakers missed the playoffs for six straight seasons afterward. This time, they can hope to build around a prime Dončić, but the sweep of a depleted Thunder roster should be a wake-up call. James is 41 and not under contract beyond this season; Reaves is likely to opt out. Both Ayton and Hayes are free agents. The rim protection must improve, and the Lakers need more than eight reliable players for a playoff run, regardless of health.
