OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder carried an 88–73 advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers with 10:41 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night at Paycom Center.
Chet Holmgren paced the top-seeded Thunder (64-18, 34-7 home) with 20 points and nine rebounds, hitting 7 of 12 from the field and all four of his free throws. Rookie guard Ajay Mitchell added 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in four points and four rebounds.
LeBron James led Los Angeles (53-29, 25-16 road) with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting and collected six rebounds. Deandre Ayton supplied 10 points and 10 boards, and Marcus Smart scored 12. The Lakers played without forward Jarred Vanderbilt (finger) and guard Luka Doncic (hamstring), both listed as out until later in the week.
By the numbers
Through the first 37 minutes, Oklahoma City shot 53 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three-point range, while Los Angeles converted 42 percent overall and 32 percent from deep. Each team claimed 33 rebounds, but the Lakers committed 16 turnovers to the Thunder’s 14.
Quarter-by-quarter, Oklahoma City opened with periods of 31, 30 and 23 points before adding four in the early stages of the final frame. Los Angeles trailed after posting 26, 27 and 19 points, respectively, and had 17 in the fourth when the Thunder called timeout at the 10:41 mark. ESPN’s win-probability model gave Oklahoma City a 98.5 percent chance to close out the contest at that juncture.
Odds and broadcast
Sportsbooks listed the Thunder as 14.5-point favorites before tipoff, with the total set around 206.5 points. The game aired nationally on NBC/Peacock, with Games 2 and 4 scheduled for Prime Video and Game 3 on ABC.
The best-of-seven series continues in Oklahoma City for Game 2 later this week.
Source: ESPN
