Thunder sweep Lakers, advance to Western Conference finals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, while Chet Holmgren delivered a tiebreaking dunk with 32.8 seconds remaining as the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a second-round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 115-110 victory in Game 4 on Monday night, News.Az reports, citing AP.

Ajay Mitchell scored 10 of his 28 points in a frantic fourth quarter as Oklahoma City overcame a determined effort from Los Angeles to improve to 8-0 in the playoffs with its toughest win of the postseason so far.

LeBron James finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds in what became the final game of his unprecedented 23rd NBA season. However, he missed a driving bank shot with 20 seconds left that could have given the Lakers the lead.

The 41-year-old James has repeatedly said he has not decided whether he will return next season, so there was no farewell ceremony surrounding the game. Instead, the Lakers fought to keep their season alive but ultimately suffered their eighth loss to Oklahoma City this season.

Austin Reaves scored 27 points before missing a game-tying three-pointer with eight seconds left. The Lakers reached the second round despite major injuries to NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic and Reaves late in the season, exceeding many preseason expectations.

Still, Los Angeles lost six of its final seven playoff games and failed to reach the Western Conference finals for the third consecutive year.

For the first time this postseason, Oklahoma City faced fourth-quarter deficits in Game 4 as the Lakers refused to back down.

The Thunder will now have several days off before opening the Western Conference finals against the winner of the second-round series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves. That series is tied and heads to Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Oklahoma City finished 8-0 against Los Angeles this season, including four regular-season wins, though Game 4 proved to be the closest contest between the teams. The Lakers stayed within reach late thanks to key baskets from Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Holmgren’s dunk with 2:03 remaining gave the Thunder a 109-103 lead, but Hachimura answered with a four-point play. Marcus Smart then drove for a layup while drawing a foul, completing a three-point play that put the Lakers ahead 110-109 in the final minute.

Holmgren responded by powering inside for a triple-pump dunk with 32.8 seconds left. James then missed on a drive, and after Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws, Reaves missed another late three-point attempt as the Thunder held on to secure their sixth trip to the Western Conference finals in the last 16 seasons.

The Thunder dominated the opening two games of the series at home by 18 points each and followed that with a 131-108 rout in Game 3.

Doncic missed the final 15 games of the Lakers’ season after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2 in Oklahoma City. The Slovenian star watched Game 4 from the bench wearing a black sweatsuit and reportedly never came close to returning from an injury that often requires around two months of recovery.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev