Los Angeles Lakers (50\u201326) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (60\u201316) | Game 77 of 82<\/p>\n
WHERE TO WATCH AND WHAT TIME<\/p>\n
Date: Thursday, April 2<\/p>\n
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
Location: Paycom Center \u2014 Oklahoma City, OK<\/p>\n
TV: PRIME, Spectrum SportsNet<\/p>\n
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Radio: ESPN LA 710 \/ 1330 KWKW<\/p>\n
GAME PREVIEW<\/p>\n
The Lakers hit the road riding momentum from their 50th win of the season, taking on the NBA-leading Thunder on Thursday in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles is coming off a 127\u2013113 win over Cleveland on Tuesday, powered by Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s 42-point performance in his return from suspension.<\/p>\n
Don\u010di\u0107 has scored 40 points in three straight games as he still leads the NBA in scoring at 33.8 points.<\/p>\n
Don\u010di\u0107 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were not suited up in the last matchup between the two in a nine-point loss to the Thunder. And this MVP matchup will continue as they see each other again back in L.A. next week.<\/p>\n
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Winners of 11 of their last 12, the Lakers now face their toughest test against an Oklahoma City team that owns the league\u2019s best record at 60\u201316.<\/p>\n
The Thunder enter on a tear, winning 15 of their last 16 games, including a four-point overtime win over Detroit on Monday behind a 47-point performance from Gilgeous-Alexander, who continues to lead the MVP race.<\/p>\n
WHERE THEY STAND<\/p>\n
The Lakers improved to 50\u201326 and sit firmly at No. 3 in the Western Conference after clinching both a playoff spot and the Pacific Division title.<\/p>\n
With a handful of games remaining, they are focused on maintaining momentum.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City leads the Western Conference, holding a commanding grip on the No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n
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QUICK OPPONENT RUNDOWN<\/p>\n
The Thunder have been the most dominant and balanced team in the league this season.<\/p>\n
They rank 8th in offensive rating (117.1) and 1st in defensive rating (106.3), combining elite scoring with the NBA\u2019s top defense. Their ability to control games on both ends\u2014especially late\u2014has separated them from the rest of the league.<\/p>\n
And also beating good teams with a 33\u201314 record (NBA-best) against teams at .500 and up.<\/p>\n
Gilgeous-Alexander continues to anchor everything offensively while thriving in isolation and clutch situations.<\/p>\n
WHAT TO AVOID<\/p>\n
The Lakers can\u2019t afford the slow starts that have crept into recent wins.<\/p>\n
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Against the Thunder, falling behind early\u2014especially on the road\u2014can quickly snowball. Oklahoma City thrives on turning stops into transition offense, leading the NBA in points off turnovers with 22 points a game.<\/p>\n
So careless turnovers and rushed possessions will only fuel their momentum.<\/p>\n
Containing Gilgeous-Alexander is priority No. 1. He lives in the paint and at the free-throw line, so the Lakers must stay disciplined defensively, avoid unnecessary fouls and force the ball out of his hands late in possessions.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll also need to match OKC\u2019s defensive intensity for a full 48 minutes. Any drop-off\u2014especially in the second half\u2014can be the difference.<\/p>\n
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STAT TO WATCH<\/p>\n
Luka Don\u010di\u0107 has scored 30+ points in 13 consecutive games, with the Lakers going 12\u20131 during that stretch.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City owns the NBA\u2019s No. 1 defensive rating (106.3).<\/p>\n
Will that continue in OKC? We shall see in an MVP battle.<\/p>\n
NOTABLE OPPONENT RANKS AMONG THE NBA<\/p>\n
The Thunder’s current ranking:<\/p>\n
8th (1117.1) in offensive rating<\/p>\n
1st (106.3) in defensive rating<\/p>\n
Other rankings:<\/p>\n
SEASON SERIES<\/p>\n
Game 1 \u2014 Thunder 121\u201392 win at Los Angeles (Nov. 12) Game 2 \u2014 Thunder 119\u2013110 win at Oklahoma City<\/p>\n
Thursday marks the third of four meetings between the teams this season, with the final matchup coming in Los Angeles following their next game.<\/p>\n
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INJURY REPORT<\/p>\n
Lakers:<\/p>\n
Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness): Day-to-day<\/p>\n
Thunder:<\/p>\n
Alex Caruso (illness): Questionable<\/p>\n
Thomas Sorber (right ACL): Out<\/p>\n
THREADS FOR THE GAME<\/p>\n
The Lakers will wear their road black California Dream unis again, while the Thunder will wear their blue Icon Edition jerseys.<\/p>\n
NEXT MATCHUP<\/p>\n
The Lakers continue their road trip against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday then return home for a rematch against the Thunder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Lakers (50\u201326) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (60\u201316) | Game 77 of 82 WHERE TO WATCH AND…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3783],"tags":[328,1013,7,205,305,149,633,296,251,150,368,326,6,310,475,179,3966,3965,209,954,312],"class_list":{"0":"post-694322","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oklahoma-city-thunder","8":"tag-alex-caruso","9":"tag-austin-reaves","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-cason-wallace","12":"tag-cleveland","13":"tag-dallas-mavericks","14":"tag-defensive-rating","15":"tag-detroit","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","18":"tag-luka-doncic","19":"tag-marcus-smart","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-oklahoma","22":"tag-oklahoma-city","23":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","24":"tag-oklahomacity","25":"tag-oklahomacitythunder","26":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","27":"tag-thomas-sorber","28":"tag-thunder"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}