Ajay Mitchell had career playoff highs of 24 points and 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their unbeaten playoff run to the brink of another Western Conference finals with a 131-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the second round on Saturday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who coolly improved to 7-0 — both in these playoffs overall, and in their seven games this season against LeBron James and the Lakers. Oklahoma City is the NBA’s sixth defending champion to start 7-0 in the following postseason after three wins over short-handed Los Angeles by a combined 59 points.
Game 3 was remarkably similar to Game 2 in many respects: The Lakers again had to fight desperately just to keep up with the champs into the third quarter, only for the Thunder to run away with their usual merciless efficiency when LA finally faltered. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, which outscored the Lakers 33-20 in the third quarter and wasn’t threatened at all down the stretch.