For the second straight game, the Oklahoma City Thunder were trailing at halftime. Yet, the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t capitalize on their advantage again and lost the home-court advantage with a 131-108 loss. After the game, Austin Reaves, who has been dominating the headlines for his outburst at the official and poor defensive display, had nothing but flowers for his rivals.
“They’re a connected group. Their pieces fit basically perfect,” said AR to the media. “It’s tough to beat them. They’ve got a good coaching staff over that that does a good job. Managing the game that his team needs to be managed. They’ve got really good players.” What made OKC’s night even better was that they held Reaves to just 17 points on a poor 6-18 shooting display. In fact, the 27-year-old guard went scoreless in the third frame, which further raised questions regarding his fit in the playoffs.
AR called the team perfect for multiple reasons. First, the Thunder have offensively found a groove where even when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t drop 30 points, the team still wins. Tonight, the current MVP had 23 points and eight assists, and it was sophomore guard Ajay Mitchell who ran the show in Game 3 with 24 points, 10 assists, and 3 steals. The bench production was solid again as they scored 40 points, with Cason Wallace being the highest contributor with 16. Then the defensive shift once again kicked in.
“They’re connected group. Their pieces fit basically perfect. It’s tough to beat them. They’ve got a good coaching staff over that that does a good job. Managing the game that his team needs to be managed. They’ve got really good players.”
AR on OKC pic.twitter.com/2Dl2sLG8jH
— 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅
(@PurpGoldLakers) May 10, 2026
The Thunder have a lot of wing defenders, a lot of size and length. Coach Mark Daigneault had a good defensive system where he had them on a string. OKC out-rebounded the Lakers, 43-37, had 12 steals in total, and they choked JJ Redick for 17 turnovers, of which they scored 30 points. Such performances from OKC are why Austin Reaves called them perfect.
Thus, the Thunder became the first team since LeBron James’ 2017 Cavaliers to start the playoffs 7-0 after winning an NBA championship. As OKC celebrates, there was a damaging stat for the Purple and Gold franchise. The Lakers were outscored by 25 points in this half, the second-worst in a home playoff game for the Lakers since they moved to LA.
JJ Redick agreed with Austin Reaves assessment
There were a few positives for the Lakers, as even without the NBA’s scoring leader, Luka Doncic, they had a 2-point lead at halftime. The defensive schemes also worked on SGA, who missed nine of his first 11 shots, and had fewer double-teams than in the series’ first two games. Still, it was not enough to contain the current MVP, who ended with his highest-scoring game of the series. On the other hand, LeBron James had 19 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.
So, both Austin Reaves and Bron struggled from the field to a combined 12 for 32. That’s why even the Lakers’ head coach wanted to give them the credit. “They’re an incredible basketball team,” JJ Redick said. “Third straight game we’re right there after 2 1/2 quarters. We tried different lineups, different coverages. Still lost those minutes. Again, we’ve got to be better, but I’m not giving up on the series. We’re going to go try to win on Monday. We’re going to try to extend the series.”
The status of Doncic remains uncertain as 14th consecutive game for the Lakers since straining his hamstring on April 2 in Oklahoma City. In fact, in the final frame, Austin Reaves was seen limping and holding his right knee in pain.
