LeBron James said on May 8 that the Los Angeles Lakers must improve their performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder after falling behind two games to none in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lakers lost both games by 18 points, despite holding a lead late in the third quarter of Game 2.
The outcome highlights ongoing challenges for the team as they seek to advance in the playoffs without star player Luka Doncic. The losses have raised questions about turnovers and second-chance opportunities given up to Oklahoma City.
“We played well in spurts,” James said. “I thought we had some pretty good minutes obviously until [the third quarter]. We were able to take a five-point lead in the third quarter and then they made a run, obviously. That fourth quarter, they kept scoring. They were really good exploiting matchups and things of that nature. But we had a really good game plan and tried to execute that as close to 48 minutes and just didn’t get it done.”
James acknowledged turnovers have been an issue but did not see them as careless mistakes during Game 2. “I don’t know. We’ve had opportunities,” he said. “I think offensively, we’ve had some really good looks. Some of them haven’t gone down. We’ve gotten into the paint. Yeah, we’ve had some turnovers, but today there wasn’t that many careless turnovers. Some of them were being aggressive, and we’re OK with that.”
Looking ahead as the series returns to Los Angeles, James emphasized rebounding as a key area for improvement: “I think tonight we did a good job with our first defense,” he said. “But we gotta clean glass and do a better job with that… Versus a team like that, you can’t give up second-chance points.” He added regarding offensive rebounds by Oklahoma City: “Yeah, they can be (deflating). It depends at what point in the game it happens. But they can be.”
Despite being down two games, James noted comebacks are possible if his team focuses on limiting second-chance points and reducing turnovers while playing complete games.
Luka Doncic praised his teammates for stepping up during his absence prior to Game 2: “Everything. Everybody helped us out,” Doncic told reporters in Oklahoma City. “We proved that we can play. Everybody stepped up, it’s truly amazing to see…”
As the series shifts back home for Los Angeles, both players indicated continued focus on execution will be critical for any potential comeback.