The Los Angeles Lakers left Paycom Center with a 125-107 loss on Thursday night, and LeBron James said the story was not hard to read. Oklahoma City’s pressure, turnovers and second-chance damage shaped the game, while the Thunder kept finding answers whenever the Lakers made a push.
James said the Lakers had “some really good minutes up through three,” including a brief third-quarter lead, but could not hold the line when Oklahoma City accelerated.
“We was able to take a five-point lead in the third quarter and then they made a run obviously,” James said. “In our fourth quarter they kept scoring.”
That fourth-quarter stretch followed a third quarter in which the Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. James said the Lakers understood the challenge, but Oklahoma City still made the possessions matter.
“They’re really good at exploiting matchups and things of that nature,” he said. “But we got a good game plan. We tried to execute close to 48 minutes. Just didn’t get it done.”
The Lakers’ biggest issue remained the same one Redick pointed to after the game: the Thunder’s ability to force mistakes. James was blunt about that part of the matchup.
“Them forcing turnovers is what they do better than anybody,” he said. “You guys know you have to not turn the ball over.”
James said the Lakers had chances to create better looks, but some possessions stalled in the paint and others turned into giveaways. He stressed that not every turnover felt careless, but the margin against Oklahoma City is too thin to survive sloppy stretches.
“I don’t know,” James said. “We’ve had opportunities. I think offensively we’ve had some really good looks. Some of them haven’t gone down in the paint. Yeah, we’ve had some turnovers. I don’t think today it was that many where it was like careless turnovers. Some of them was being aggressive and be okay with that.”
When asked about the officiating, James did not turn it into an excuse, even after repeated discussions between players and referees. He kept the focus on how the Thunder handled the game and how the Lakers can answer in their own building.
“We balance too well,” he said.
The veteran also responded to JJ Redick’s postgame criticism of his whistle, even if he did not fully engage the debate. Asked why referees have not rewarded him more often, James answered simply, “I don’t know.”
There was still one bright spot for Los Angeles: Austin Reaves. After a difficult Game 1, he scored a playoff career-high 31 points, and James made sure to mention him.
“Austin being Austin,” James said.
The Lakers now return home needing a response in Game 3 on Saturday. James said the next step is straightforward.
“We got to do a better job,” he said. “For a team like that, you can’t give up second chance points.”
