The Los Angeles Lakers were always going to have a tough go of it in their playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's been made more difficult by the absence of Luka Doncic.
And the Lakers certainly haven't helped their cause by finishing games poorly -- actually, historically poorly.
The Lakers have led at halftime in back-to-back games, but they've gone on to lose by a combined 41 points between Games 2 and 3.
That has never happened in NBA history, according to OptaStats:
The Lakers are the first team in NBA history to lead at the half in back-to-back playoff games but lose both by a combined 40+ points.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 10, 2026
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In Game 2, the Lakers' lead was one point at the half, and then the Thunder blitzed them by winning the third quarter, 36-22, en route to an 18-point win.
In Game 3, the Lakers led by two points at the half. The Thunder outscored them by 13 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth quarter to win by 23.
The tough part about handling the defending champion Thunder is that they're just so deep.
Take Game 3 -- Ajay Mitchell had career playoff highs in both points (24) and assists (10) to help OKC surge in the second half.
The Lakers don't have that kind of depth, particularly with Doncic out. They just have no way to persist in this fight for four quarters.
It likely means that L.A.'s season will be done very soon. Sure, it's disappointing to blow halftime leads, but that speaks just as much to the talent of this Thunder team as anything the Lakers may be doing wrong.
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