Chet Holmgren poured in 24 points and controlled the glass with 12 rebounds while adding three blocks as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, went 2-of-3 from the line and handed out six assists.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 27 points and six assists, and Rui Hachimura finished with 18 points. Oklahoma City seized the lead for good with 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter and carried a 61-53 advantage into halftime. The Thunder then outscored Los Angeles by 10 points across the third and fourth quarters to secure the 18-point victory.
Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said he and the team stay focused only on the present moment, treating each game as unwritten and ignoring outside narratives, noting that the scoreboard starts 0-0 and the team with more points wins. Lakers coach JJ Redick pointed to difficulties containing offensive rebounds and a string of mistakes, saying the margin for error against the defending champions is small and that the team must improve execution and attention to detail but should bounce back.