Ajay Mitchell, right, led the scoring for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Los Angeles Lakers during Game Three of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs in Los Angeles [Harry How/Getty Images via AFP]By ReutersPublished On 10 May 202610 May 2026Ajay Mitchell scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half, as the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the final 24 minutes en route to a convincing 131-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their Western Conference second-round series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and nine assists as defending champions Thunder took a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Playoff semifinals on Saturday.
Chet Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds, Cason Wallace added 16 points off the bench and Mitchell had 10 assists.
“The confidence I got from my teammates and our coaching staff has been amazing from Day 1,” Mitchell said. “That’s the key.”
The Thunder trailed by two points at half time before steamrolling Los Angeles 74-49 in the second half.
Rui Hachimura made five three-pointers and scored a team-high 21 points, and LeBron James added 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Lakers. Luke Kennard had 18 points off the bench, and Austin Reaves had 17 points and nine assists for Los Angeles.
The Thunder can complete the sweep in Monday’s Game 4 at Los Angeles. No team in NBA history has come back to win a playoff series from a 3-0 deficit.
“Absolutely,” Gilgeous-Alexander said about wanting to complete the sweep. “You never want to waste an opportunity to win a basketball game. We just need to do the same thing we did [in] the first three games.”
The loss dropped the Lakers to 0-7 this season against Oklahoma City, with an average losing margin of 25.1 points.
“They are pretty good from top to bottom, and they don’t take their foot off the gas,” James said.
The Lakers once again missed NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic. Oklahoma is playing without its second-best player, Jalen Williams. Both players are sidelined with hamstring injuries.
Oklahoma City shot 56.4 percent from the field, including 17 of 38 from three-point range. Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and nine rebounds, Isaiah Joe scored 12 points on four three-pointers, and Luguentz Dort had 10 points. Wallace also made four three-pointers for the Thunder.
The Lakers made 46.9 percent of their attempts and were 14 of 30 from beyond the arc. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton added 10 points apiece for Los Angeles, which committed 17 turnovers, leading to 30 Oklahoma City points.
“The MVP [Gilgeous-Alexander] is 7 of 20 tonight, and they’ve kicked our a** three straight games,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “They are an incredible basketball team.”
