Thunder dominate Lakers in NBA semi-finals opener 2026

Oklahoma City Thunder beat Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 in Conference semi-finals Game 1.

Thunder outplay defending champs The Oklahoma City Thunder easily overpowered the Los Angeles Lakers to seize a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Conference semi-finals. As the Western Conference's top seed, the Thunder started the best-of-seven series with a commanding 108-90 home victory on Tuesday. Their offense flowed in unison while their defense held the Lakers to their lowest playoff point total since 2021. ## Key performances on both sides For the Lakers, LeBron James topped the scoring chart with 27 points. Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each contributed 18 points for Oklahoma City. Lakers head coach JJ Redick noted that playing the defending champions leaves little room for mistakes. ## Redick highlights errors after loss Lakers head coach JJ Redick pointed to unforced mistakes as the main issue in the defeat. Quoting directly, he said: 'You're playing the world champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not that high.' Redick continued: '[There were] just too many tonight. We've got to clean that up.' Lakers guard Luka Doncic missed the game due to a hamstring injury and may also sit out Game 2 on Thursday. ## Pistons edge Cavaliers in East opener The Detroit Pistons took the early lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Cleveland Cavaliers with an 111-101 home victory. Cade Cunningham paced Detroit with 23 points, supported by Tobias Harris's 20. Donovan Mitchell scored 23 for Cleveland, while James Harden added 22 points but committed seven turnovers.