The Lakers Fight Hard, but Still Lose Big in Game 2, 125-107
About this episode
The Lakers fought hard but ultimately lost to the Thunder in Game 2, with notable performances from Austin Reaves and LeBron James.
On the one hand, the Lakers played very hard, and they made a good game of Thursday's Game 2 in Oklahoma City. On the other, in the end, the Lakers still lost by 18. Again. Final score, 125-107. The game was more competitive than the final score would indicate, but the final score still indicates the Thunder won pretty comfortably. For the Lakers, there were some genuine bright spots. LeBron James again had an efficient evening, finishing with 23 points on 9-18 shooting. Rui Hachimura's playoff shooting heater continued, hitting four of his seven 3-point attempts. Deandre Ayton had 10 rebounds. And critically, Austin Reaves bounced back with a 31-point, six assist effort, and hit three of his six triples. It wasn't perfect -- 5 TOs including a couple particularly ugly ones -- but overall this was a fine effort against a brutally tough Thunder defense. LA again did a good job on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but once again OKC's bench was excellent. That's depth the Lakers simply can't compete with. All in all, the first two games went as expected. The Lakers are playing hard, doing a lot of things well, but aren't nearly equipped to deal with the Thunder. We'll see what they can do…
More episodes of Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers
- Is "Playoff Rui" Changing How the Lakers Have to Approach Free Agency?
- Lakers vs. Thunder, Game 2: What to Watch For (Could JJ Redick Get Weird?)
- Luka Dončić Unlikely to Play Vs. OKC... and Is Game 2 the Biggest of Austin Reaves's Career?
- Jarred Vanderbilt's Injury Makes LA's Depth Problem vs. the Thunder Worse
- Reaves Hits Rock Bottom as Lakers Lose Game 1, 108-90
- How the Lakers Stack Up: An LA vs. OKC Preview, Part 2
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