Reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder remain undefeated in playoffs and move on to Western Conference finals.
Published On 12 May 2026
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Western Conference finals with a 115-110 victory over the Lakers on Monday, completing a four-game sweep in what potentially was LeBron James’ final game for Los Angeles.
Ajay Mitchell logged 28 points, Chet Holmgren produced 16 points and nine rebounds and Jared McCain added 13 points as the Thunder improved to 8-0 in the playoffs. Oklahoma City is set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves or the San Antonio Spurs in the next round.
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The defending NBA champions shot 51.9% from the floor while the Lakers shot 50.7%. Oklahoma City won all eight games against Los Angeles in 2025-26, including the regular season.
Austin Reaves put up 27 points while Rui Hachimura added 25 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who head into the offseason with major changes possibly in store.
James, 41, amassed 24 points and 12 rebounds. He is now set to become an unrestricted free agent after a record 23 seasons in the league.
Jaxson Hayes added 18 points for Los Angeles, which played without Luka Doncic (hamstring) throughout its playoff run. Doncic was injured during a game at Oklahoma City on April 2.
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining for a 113-110 lead, and Reaves missed what would have been a game-tying 3-point attempt with eight seconds left. Mitchell put the game away by sinking two free throws with 6.4 seconds to go.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before going on a 22-9 run to take a 76-75 lead with 2:03 left in the period after getting seven consecutive points from Reaves. Los Angeles extended its advantage to 84-80 heading into the fourth.
The Lakers led 92-87 before Mitchell capped an 8-0 run with a three-point play to give Oklahoma City a 95-92 lead with 6:14 remaining.
A four-point play from Hachimura, followed by a three-point play from Marcus Smart, put the Lakers up 110-109 with 40.9 seconds remaining. A dunk from Holmgren gave the Thunder a 111-100 lead with 32.8 seconds left.
James missed a floater over Isaiah Hartenstein with 20 seconds left before Reaves and Smart missed late 3-point attempts.
Cavs level series with Pistons
Earlier on Monday, Donovan Mitchell scored an NBA-playoff-record-tying 39 points in the second half and finished with 43, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-103 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Cavaliers, who tied the best-of-seven series 2-2, put together a 24-0 run spanning halftime to stun the top-seeded Pistons. It was the most consecutive points in a playoff game in franchise history.
Mitchell matched the mark for points in a half by Eric “Sleepy” Floyd of the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 10, 1987, in the West semifinals.
Mitchell had just four points at halftime due to 1-of-8 field-goal shooting. After the break, he made 12 of 18 field-goal attempts, 3 of 7 3-point tries and 12 of 13 free throws in 17 minutes.
“I apologised to the group (at halftime),” Mitchell said postgame on NBC. “… Trying to set the tone early in the offence, and I didn’t do that in the first half. I came in and told my guys, ‘It’s on me,’ But I tried to make a statement in the second half.”
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson added, “Incredible performance, really, by Donovan. A big-time second half for Don. When Donovan starts to get in the open court, that’s when he’s at his best.”
The seven-time All-Star logged 21 points in the third quarter for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. Game 5 of the series is on Wednesday in Detroit.
