The Los Angeles Lakers face a 3-0 deficit in their Western Conference Semifinals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as of May 10. The Thunder remain undefeated in the playoffs and have consistently pulled away from the Lakers after halftime.
Throughout the first three games, the Lakers have stayed competitive into halftime but have been outscored significantly in third quarters. In Game 2, Los Angeles led by one point at halftime before being outscored by 14 points in the third quarter, resulting in a 125-107 loss. During Saturday’s game at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers again held a slim lead at halftime but were outscored by 13 points in the third quarter and ultimately lost 131-108.
When asked about whether Oklahoma City has an answer for every adjustment made by Los Angeles, Austin Reaves said, “I mean, you could say that.” He added: “I thought we played really good first half, even a little bit in the third quarter. That’s kind of been the trend the last couple games, just gotta figure out how to take that first half and move it to the second.”
Oklahoma City has accumulated a total scoring advantage of 31 points over Los Angeles during all third quarters so far this series. Reaves admitted uncertainty about why this is happening: “I don’t know,” he responded when asked about these struggles. “I’ll have to watch the film.”
Reaves also showed frustration when pressed on how to stop Oklahoma City’s scoring runs: “That’s basically the same question,” he said. “If I had the answers, we would not be struggling.”
Reaves recently returned from injury and has faced challenges against Oklahoma City’s defense. While he contributed nine assists on Saturday’s game, he also recorded five turnovers and struggled with shooting accuracy.
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history. The Lakers will need significant improvements if they hope to avoid elimination.
