A pair of 18-point wins equals a 2-0 series lead for the Thunder.
OKC beat Los Angeles 125-107 Thursday night in a game that ended with the Lakers huddling around the officials, exasperated with how the game was called. Both sides had their qualms with the crew.
But enough about the officiating.
Let’s get to the grades.
Order new book on Thunder’s run to NBA title
Ajay Mitchell: A
Forget Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or LeBron James. Ajay Mitchell was the best player on the floor in the second quarter.
He was drawn to the rim like there was a magnet in the ball. Mitchell scored 11 points in the quarter with a slew of crafty finishes and midrange makes. He made 5 of 7 shots in the frame.
Mitchell has been so good, it almost makes you forget about the All-NBA guy he’s replacing. I’m not saying Mitchell is on the level of Jalen Williams, but the dropoff isn’t all that severe.
Mitchell had 18 points in Game 1 and 20 more in Game 2. He was 7 of 12 from the field and 6 of 7 from the foul line. He had a team-high six assists against two turnovers.
Special player.
— Joe Mussatto, columnist
Defending Austin Reaves: C
As good as the Thunder was defending the Lakers sharpshooter in Game 1, the Oklahoma City defense struggled staying in front of Reaves in Game 2.
He scored eight points in the second quarter, added another 10 in the third and finished with a game-high 31 points
After a 3-of-16 performance for eight points on Tuesday, Reaves was 10 of 16 Thursday.
He also hit 3 of 6 shots from behind the arc, more than he hit in last first three games since returning from injury.
— Jenni Carlson, columnist
Mark Daigneault’s challenge: F
Chaos ensued at the 10:34 mark in the third quarter. Let’s try our best to sort through it.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for an offensive foul — his fourth personal — for trying to rip free from Austin Reaves. Reaves went down in a heap.
The refs went to the monitor to see if there was a “hostile act.” Mark Daigneault, meanwhile, challenged that SGA committed a foul in the first place, much less a flagrant one.
Oh, and in the middle of all of this, Alex Caruso got called for a technical from the Thunder’s bench.
I thought the Thunder had a decent chance of winning the challenge. Instead, OKC got nothing but bad news. The foul on SGA was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. The Lakers shot three free throws — two for the foul and one for the technical on Caruso.
Daigneault pulled SGA from the game.
The play was probably worth challenging given SGA’s foul trouble, but it turned out to be a futile review.
What did the Thunder do without Shai? Outscored the Lakers 32-15 the rest of the quarter is all.
— Joe Mussatto, columnist
Rim protection: B-
The Thunder’s early rim protection was next-level elite. In the first quarter, OKC had four blocks; Isaiah Hartenstein had two, Chet Holmgren one and Cason Wallace one. LA managed to hit just 5 of 9 shots in the restricted area. If the game would’ve ended after that frame, A+ for rim protection.
Of course, that didn’t happen.
The rest of the game, the Thunder was so-so. Only one more block, and the Lakers were 10 of 14 from the restricted zone.
But when the Lakers were trying to make things interesting down the stretch, Holmgren met LeBron James at the rim, and even though the Thunder big man didn’t block the shot, he affected it.
Big play in a big moment.
— Jenni Carlson, columnist
Jared McCain: A+
Does any play make the Paycom Center crowd pop like a Jared McCain 3-pointer? There were four of them Friday.
McCain scored 12 points in the Thunder’s sweep of the Suns. He already has 30 points in the Lakers series. In two games!
After scoring 12 points in Game 1, McCain added 18 in Game 2 on 7-of-11 shooting.
Led by McCain, the Thunder’s bench outscored the Lakers’ bench 48-20.
— Joe Mussatto, columnist
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C+
It was another subpar night by SGA standards, but that seemed to make his fourth-quarter, step-back 3-pointer feel all the better.
Gilgeous-Alexander had an efficient shooting night, scoring 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, but the Lakers (and foul trouble) knocked him off rhythm again.
SGA only had three games in the regular season in which he had more turnovers than assists. That’s been the case in both games this series.
Gilgeous-Alexander had seven turnovers and six assists in Game 1. He only had three turnovers in Game 2, but just two assists.
— Joe Mussatto, columnist
Lu Dort: B-
Rough night on offense.
Great night on defense.
Dort has become so dependable on offense that a 1-of-6 shooting night from Dort is cringeworthy. He scored just three points and committed two turnovers.
But on defense, Dort was his normal disruptive self. He drew the LeBron James assignment much of the night, and the Laker legend went 9 of 18 for 23 points. He had six assists but three turnovers.
LeBron got his, but he didn’t take over the game at any point. Dort was a huge part of that.
— Jenni Carlson, columnist
National anthem: A+++
We’re 2 for 2, Thunder fans.
After Generald Wilson gave a great rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner before Game 1, Big Rob Clay delivered his own gem before Game 2. The local pastor and motivational speaker is an anthem regular, and he is always spectacular.
Thursday was no different.
Powerful. Rich. Didn’t dilly dally. Just splendid.
— Jenni Carlson, columnist
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at [email protected]. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
