After the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals 131-108 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, the question was not whether they would lose the series but when. The hope was that they would be able to stave off elimination for at least a couple of days by winning Game 4 on Monday at home, although it was realistically a pretty faint hope.
In each of the first three games, the Lakers were able to stay within striking distance until the third quarter, when the Thunder hit the turbo button. On Monday, Oklahoma City didn’t wait until the third quarter to take control of this game. It went on a 17-0 run in the first 6:22 of the second quarter, and it didn’t allow the Lakers to score their first basket of the period until the 5:15 mark. Down by 12 at that point, the pressure hung heavily over the Purple and Gold.
This time, the Lakers actually fought back in the third quarter. After trailing 49-45 at halftime and 66-54 with 7:35 left in the third quarter, they went on a 30-14 run during the remainder of the period and took an 84-80 lead into the fourth quarter. The final minutes saw both teams trading shot after shot and big play after big play, and even though the Lakers fell behind again midway through the final frame, they kept fighting.
In the end, however, Oklahoma City just had a little more on both ends of the floor. It came away with a 115-110 victory, and just like that, the Lakers got swept out of the playoffs.
Granted, Luka Doncic hasn’t played since he suffered a hamstring strain on April 2. But it is disappointing that L.A. didn’t put up a consistent fight in this series. Its overall lack of speed, athleticism, depth and two-way players got exposed by a Thunder team that is as deep as the Pacific Ocean and plays defense as well as any team in recent NBA history.
For the first time in this series, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked like his usual self and hurt the Lakers with 35 points and eight assists. Ajay Mitchell was once again deadly with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting, and Chet Holmgren had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Now the speculation immediately begins about who will stay, who will leave and who will be added to the Lakers’ roster this offseason. LeBron James will be a free agent, as will Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes, just to name a few players. Austin Reaves is expected to opt out of his contract and become a free agent, and guard Marcus Smart and center Deandre Ayton can do the same.
Deandre Ayton: D
In the biggest game of the season and a game that could help determine how motivated the Lakers could be to keep him, Ayton simply didn’t make the type of impact he was capable of making. The team rarely got him involved offensively, and he ended up with just six points on three field-goal attempts, three rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes.
Defensively, he couldn’t keep Oklahoma City’s big men off the boards, as Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein combined for 19 rebounds. After playing so well, especially defensively and off the boards, in the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets, Ayton was a relative disappointment in this series.
Marcus Smart: D
Smart is another Lakers player whose performance throughout this series left a ton to be desired. In Game 4, he attempted eight shots and made just two of them, and he missed all four of his 3-point attempts. His inability to hit from downtown allowed the Thunder to corral Los Angeles defensively in the paint and around the free throw line extended while also going after the ball when L.A.’s players looked to drive into the lane.
He finished the game with five points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and six turnovers in 36 minutes. Overall, he had a strong season, and he is someone who can help the team next season and possibly beyond.
Rui Hachimura: A-minus/A
Unlike in earlier games in this series, Hachimura wasn’t much of a factor early. He had just four points in the first half, but he turned it on afterward and gave L.A. a chance to win.
He scored a dozen points in the third quarter to help Los Angeles go ahead, and down the stretch, he continued to provide buckets. With 3:10 left in the game and his team down by five, he hit a trey, and with just under two minutes to go and Los Angeles down by six, Hachimura made another trey and was fouled to cut the deficit to two. That set the scene for Smart to convert an and-1 layup to momentarily put the Lakers ahead 110-109.
However, Hachimura was involved in a controversy with 12.2 seconds left and the Lakers down 113-110. For some reason, coach JJ Redick took him out of the game during a timeout in favor of big man Maxi Kleber, who hadn’t played all night and has been used extremely sparingly during the playoffs. Austin Reaves missed a quick 3-pointer, even though the Lakers didn’t need a 3-pointer, and fans will wonder for a while why Redick made that substitution.
Hachimura finished with 25 points on 9-of-15 overall shooting and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, plus five rebounds, two assists and one block.
Austin Reaves: A-minus
Just as the buzzards were circling over and around Reaves’ head after several poor performances in this postseason, he responded with almost the exact type of outing the Lakers needed from him on Monday.
Reaves scored eight points in the first quarter and 15 points in the first half, and he looked like his usual self offensively, something that wasn’t true in Game 1 or Game 3 of this series. He attacked off the dribble quite often, and while the Thunder were able to pressure his ball-handling again and force him into eight turnovers, he was very productive offensively.
He ended up with 27 points and shot 8-of-16 from the field, 3-of-7 from 3-point land and 8-of-9 from the free throw line, to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
LeBron James: B
James showed good leadership early in this game through his actions and overall play. While he scored a modest 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting in the first half, he was active on both ends of the floor, and he did a good job on the boards in the opening minutes with six first-quarter rebounds.
He contributed to the Lakers’ solid play in the second half, and he finished with 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, three assists and one block. Was this his last game ever in a Lakers uniform?
Jaxson Hayes: A
Hayes was active near the basket on the offensive end, and it resulted in him having a big night. Time and time again, he got open deep in the paint by moving and cutting, and he ended up with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. In 27 minutes, he also grabbed five rebounds, one assist and one block.
His one block came during a key exchange early in the fourth quarter when he rejected an Ajay Mitchell layup attempt. That block resulted in a fast-break layup by LeBron James that put Los Angeles up 89-84.
Luke Kennard: D-plus/C-minus
The Lakers needed more from Kennard in this game, and that has been true several times during this postseason. In Game 4, he made two of his five shot attempts and one of his two attempts from downtown, giving him five points, to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 24 minutes.
According to multiple reports, the Lakers want to keep Kennard on a new contract this summer. The question is how much it will take for them to keep him around.
Maxi Kleber, Jarred Vanderbilt, Adou Thiero: Incomplete
Kleber came in for that one controversial possession with 12.2 seconds left in the game, while Vanderbilt and Thiero played three minutes apiece. All three men went scoreless, while Vanderbilt had one rebound.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A.’s season ends after being swept by Thunder
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
