The Oklahoma City Thunder weathered the storm on Thursday in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers to come away with another big 18-point win. If you ask the Lakers, they’ll tell you they lost because of officiating bias. If you ask national social media, they’ll agree. Unfortunately, whenever you’re the reigning champ, and you play basketball THAT much better than everyone else, you tend to make enemies.
In all seriousness, I don’t know if either fanbase was happy with the officiating in Game 2. The Lakers felt they got shortchanged because of a couple of incidents I’m aware of. Still, I know Thunder fans were disgruntled that LA was the beneficiary of every single review, even when it felt like OKC was in the right, particularly the flagrant foul call on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after he was literally being hugged by Austin Reaves.
In the midst of the perceived bias, the series continues, and because the Lakers are clearly not afraid of airing out their grievances, I wouldn’t be surprised if the league concedes to some form of Laker privilege in Game 3. With that in mind, let it be known, Thunder fans should be prepared for the fallout. Because of the growing disdain for OKC basketball, there is literally nothing that will make the angry mob side with the Thunder at this point. None of that matters, though, as the only thing the Thunder should be focused on is winning another basketball game.
OKC made some tweaks for Game 2 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued to see at least two defenders thrown at him basically every time he touched the ball past halfcourt. Teammates were more prepared to get to open spots, though, and while SGA finished with just 2 assists, the ball moved well, and OKC’s offense was difficult to slow down after the dominoes started to fall. After an abysmal first half, shooting 5-of-20 (25%) from downtown, the Thunder lit it up in the second half, knocking down 9-of-16 (56.3%).
Playing on the road can be a different animal, and this is the first road playoff game of the 2026 Playoffs for OKC. Still, the Thunder has championship experience, and the maturity and poise with which they play will be key to steadying the ship through difficult waters tonight. OKC is no longer an underdog, and with what now feels like the world against the Thunder, being the favorite to win doesn’t matter. OKC must maintain a ‘0-0’ mindset and take care of business. Let the other team take care of chatting with the officials.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, California)
Television: ABC
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Los Angeles Lakers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Ajay Mitchell
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Lakers
- PG: Austin Reaves
- SG: Marcus Smart
- SF: Rui Hachimura
- PF: LeBron James
- C: Deandre Ayton
Injury Report
Thunder
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (right hamstring injury management) is OUT.
Lakers
- Luka Doncic (strained left hamstring) is OUT.
- Jarred Vanderbilt (dislocated right finger) is QUESTIONABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 34-29 against the Lakers (18-13 at home, 16-16 on the road) in the regular season and 8-5 (7-1 at home, 1-4 on the road) in the Playoffs.
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 8 times, lost 7 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 4-0 against the Lakers in the regular season (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- OKC is 2-0 against Los Angeles in the Western Conference Semifinals (2-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).