Shai Gilgeous-Alexander produced one of his worst performances for some time and the Los Angeles Lakers could still not capitalise.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 18 points but the Oklahoma City Thunder still ground out a 108-90 win over the Lakers in Game One of the West Conference semi-finals.
The reigning NBA MVP, who has scored at least 20 points in 140 consecutive regular-season games, was 8-of-15 shooting and committed seven turnovers.
“I was loose with the ball, had a lot of turnovers,” he said. “I think that comes with the rust and not playing for a little bit. They’re obviously very aggressive, but I feel like for most of the night we got great looks.”
Holmgren steps up for OKC
Chet Holmgren came through for the Thunder, scoring 24 points and adding 12 rebounds to ease his side to a relatively routine victory. He felt Gilgeous-Alexander’s team-mates should shoulder some of the blame for his struggles.
“I think he made the right decision all night long,” Holmgren said. “I think there were a lot of opportunities where we weren’t where we needed to be and he was expecting us to be there. We had a couple turnovers in the pocket like that where he threw it right to where we should have been and we weren’t there. In the stat book, those are his turnovers, but they shouldn’t be. We got to improve, be better, be where we need to be.”
Despite the flawed performance, it was a positive night for Oklahoma City.
“I thought collectively we could have been better,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It obviously wasn’t clean. It was a little clunky. You can’t be greedy with a playoff win that was not a perfect game. There’s a lot of playoff games that are not perfect. The other team’s trying their best to squeeze you and make you very uncomfortable. And so we won an imperfect game tonight, and that’s a good thing.”
James defends struggling Reaves
LeBron James scored a match-high 27 points but received precious little support with Austin Reaves struggling as he builds match sharpness following a month off due to an oblique strain.
Reaves shot just 3-for-16 and gave up four turnovers.
“He was out a month,” said James. “We know he’s going to make shots and make plays, but that’s tough. Obviously we’re trying to fast-track him, getting back on the floor and doing the things that he was doing before the injury. But he was out a month, so rightfully so, if he has some games where he’s missing shots or whatever the case may be.
“His presence alone helps us no matter what.”
Game Two is tomorrow night with the Lakers having to battle back but will do so without Luka Doncic, who remains sidelined with a hamstring problem.
His absence was a factor in Game One, according to James, who added: “We’re playing against the number one defensive team in the NBA. And when you play against a great defense, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times. … When you play against the world champions and [miss] having a guy that averages 34 [points] and eight [rebounds] and nine [assists] and is that special, that’s [a major piece missing].”
