With 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, the Lakers held a 66-61 lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just been hit with a flagrant 1 foul, which was his fourth personal foul, and he headed to the bench for the rest of the game. The Lakers were hitting from the perimeter at a high rate, and it looked like they had a golden opportunity to take control of the game and even the series.
Instead, the Thunder gradually snatched control of the game. They ended the period ahead 93-80, and Los Angeles was unable to make any sustained runs the rest of the way. The result was a 125-107 loss for L.A. and a lot of hard feelings, especially toward the referees working the game.
Ironically, L.A. held Gilgeous-Alexander down, just as it did in Game 1, as he had a modest 22 points, but it lost the game when he was off the floor. Coach JJ Redick talked about that decisive run that occurred when Oklahoma City’s franchise player was on the bench.
“I talked about it a little bit yesterday, them being plus-nine in the non-Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) minutes and then in the second half, we just got blitzed — 32-14 [run], seven turnovers, they shot 14 free throws during that stretch,” Redick said. “We’ll look at lineups, we’ll look at everything. Try to figure out how to be better in those minutes.”
It can be demoralizing to do a great job of containing the player who can do damage more than anyone else, only to still get blitzed when he isn’t on the court. Six players scored in double figures for Oklahoma City, including Chet Holmgren (22 points), Ajay Mitchell (20 points) and reserve guard Jared McCain (18 points).
Redick had already let it be known publicly that his team needed to thwart the big runs the Thunder tend to go on that are fueled by their defense. That is just one of several issues the Lakers need to solve when the series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick on Lakers getting ‘blitzed’ without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
