Luka Dončić and Lakers dominate Thunder, serve reminder of their playoff ceiling

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OKLAHOMA CITY — It had been a while since we’d seen these Los Angeles Lakers.

There were recent flashes in wins against the Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, but the group had been relatively uninspiring lately.

After looking like a potential contender in the middle portion of the season, including winning 20 of 24 games and posting the league’s best defense, the Lakers cooled after multi-week injuries to LeBron James and Rui Hachimura halted their momentum. Los Angeles was just 7-9 ahead of Sunday’s measuring-stick game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But a 126-99 statement win in Oklahoma City reminded the NBA of the Lakers’ incredible upside on both ends of the court.

They can drain a season-high 22 3-pointers on one end of the floor and limit MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 26 points on 23 field-goal attempts and zero free-throw attempts on the other. They can ruthlessly mismatch-hunt against the league’s best defense and somehow successfully get away with playing a center (Jaxson Hayes) for only 13 minutes when their opponent starts two of them.

The Lakers might not be playing their best basketball of the season entering the playoffs, though there is still time to course-correct with four games left, but they remain capable of beating any team in the league emphatically when at their best.

“I thought we were very connected in both intent and in spirit on both ends of the floor,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Very committed to what we were trying to do defensively and very committed to where we felt like we could generate good shots offensively against a terrific defense. And there wasn’t a let-up to that.”

Luka Dončić, who sent the Thunder home early last season in the Western Conference semifinals while playing for the Dallas Mavericks, had their defense in the torture chamber. Regardless of how they defended him — the Thunder mainly switched and blitzed, with a bit of drop coverage sprinkled in — he had the answer with a diabolical smirk on his face and a slew of trash talk.

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When Isaiah Hartenstein switched onto him, Dončić drilled step-back 3-pointer after step-back 3-pointer in his face. When Chet Holmgren dropped against him, Dončić hit pull-up shots or used the additional space to get into the teeth of the defense, creating dump-off and kick-out pass opportunities. And when Oklahoma City dared blitz or trap him, Dončić found the closest teammate and the Lakers were off with a four-on-three or three-on-two advantage.

The Thunder looked helpless against Dončić. He eviscerated them with 30 points (11-of-20 shooting and 5-of-11 3-point shooting), seven rebounds and six assists. They couldn’t keep their preferred matchup, Lu Dort, on him because of the Lakers’ constant ball screens. Hartenstein and Holmgren were too slow-footed for his shiftiness. Every other Thunder defender was too small and/or weak.

“I think he relishes the challenge,” Redick said of Dončić. “You’re gonna get the best defender every night. You’re gonna get all the different coverages every night when you’re him. … Sometimes great players can get bored with that process, and so when you get like the fully engaged star in a big-time game, some special things can happen. And Luka did some special things like tonight.”

Dončić had several highlights, including a pirouetting turnaround jumper and an and-1 scoop layup, but the most notable was his no-look, over-the-head pass to Gabe Vincent in the corner while driving on the right side of the floor.

THIS LUKA PASS HAD US FOOLED TOO 😳 pic.twitter.com/YWbkhCDFkl

— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2025

“I mean, I don’t think you can practice that pass, honestly,” Dončić said. “It’s just sometimes I decide some stuff, then I don’t know how I make it. I mean, I was just glad he made it because that’s a tough shot to make.”

For as great as the Thunder are defensively, the unique size of Dončić and James as primary ballhandlers gives them problems. Even the 6-foot-5 Austin Reaves, who theoretically should have a tougher time against the likes of NBA All-Defense-caliber defenders like Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, had his way with their defense.

Dončić dominated the game until Reaves (20 points on 7-of-15 shooting), James (19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and seven assists) and the supporting cast — Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points, Gabe Vincent had 12 and Hachimura had 11 — carried them to their best win of the season.

“You attack pressure with pressure,” James said. “And also, nobody is faster than the ball. It comes to ball movement and things of that nature that combat a lot of the ball pressure. When the ball’s moving, the ball’s flying around. I thought we did a great job of being able to put the ball on the ground when the defense shifted, being able to find the extra guy on the perimeter either for shots or drive-and-kicks.

“When that ball is popping, that’s always a key to success.”

Entering the game, there were legitimate questions about the Lakers’ defense (and, for the record, there still are). They were 27th in defense since James and Hachimura returned on March 22. The Thunder ranked third in offense on the season and were fourth over their previous 15 games.

Gilgeous-Alexander made his fair share of shots, but the Lakers always had multiple defenders in the paint waiting on his drives and did a good job of contesting with fouling. He attempted zero free throws for the first time since Dec. 18, 2021. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams combined for 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting. No other Thunder players were in double figures.

The Lakers switched, rotated and swarmed like they did when they were the league’s best defense from mid-January through early March. They were connected, communicating and covering for one another. They dictated the terms of engagement, funneling the ball to certain spots of the floor and certain shooters. After almost a month of below-average defense, they’ve finally shown life on that end recently, holding the Rockets to 98 points and the Thunder to 99 over the past week.

As several Lakers shared postgame, there were three points of emphasis for the Lakers’ defense. They wanted to keep the Thunder away from the rim, off the free-throw line and the offensive glass. The Lakers did a solid job in all three regards, holding the Thunder to 46 paint points, 12 free-throw attempts and nine offensive rebounds (four of which came during garbage time).

“Those are some of the controllables that you control,” James said of the Lakers’ defensive game plan.

One game doesn’t erase the Thunder’s historic season or prove the Lakers are back. But it can serve as a reference point — a popular Redick term — for the group.

With Dončić, the Lakers have beaten the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers, New York Knicks, Grizzlies, Rockets and Thunder. They have the second-best record in the Western Conference against the West, with the next closest team, the Rockets, 3 1/2 games back, which bodes well for their postseason aspirations.

They currently hold the tiebreaker over every projected West playoff team aside from Oklahoma City and Houston, though they can win the tiebreaker over the Rockets if they beat them on Friday.

The Lakers (48-30) only need one more win to clinch a top-six seed in the West. If they go 2-2 or better over the final four games, they lock up the No. 3 seed (and if they win out, could even get to No. 2, depending on if Houston wins another game).

The Lakers will continue to prioritize health down the stretch over the regular season, casting some doubt on the availability of their rotation for the upcoming back-to-back in Oklahoma City and Dallas. Redick said the group is still determining its approach.

“Nothing set in stone,” Redick said. “Again, this is all day to day.”

“I don’t even know,” James said when asked about his plans for the back-to-back.

No matter how Tuesday’s rematch plays out, or the rest of the regular season, the Lakers, after a much-needed reminder, will begin the playoffs confident that their ceiling is as high as anyone else’s.

(Photo of Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren: Alonzo Adams / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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