The Oklahoma City Thunder used another explosive second half to beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 131-108, pushing the Lakers to the brink of elimination in the NBA playoffs.
Ajay Mitchell scored 24 points and handed out 10 assists without a turnover to help the Thunder take a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series.
The Lakers will host Game Four on Tuesday (HK time).
“I’m not giving up on this series,” defiant Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We’re going to try to win. We’re going to try to extend the series and we’re going to try to take this thing back to OKC.”
With scoring champion Luka Doncic still out injured, Rui Hachimura led the Lakers with 21 points, with James, added 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
But the Thunder’s depth was just too much for the depleted Lakers.
“That’s the strength of their team,” Redick said.
With reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander connecting on just seven of 20 shots from the floor, second-year guard Mitchell – starting in place of injured Jalen Williams – stepped up. “He’s a gamer,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 23 points. “It might be a shock to the world, but this is no shock to us.”
After trailing by two points at half-time, the Thunder opened the second half on a 21-6 scoring run.
Elsewhere, the Cleveland Cavaliers, fueled by 35 points from Donovan Mitchell and clutch shooting from James Harden, avoided falling in a similar hole, grabbing a crucial 116-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons to cut their Eastern Conference series deficit to 2-1.
Harden scored nine of his 19 points in a tight fourth quarter, including a decisive three-pointer with 25.9 seconds left.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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