LeBron James said on May 10 that the Los Angeles Lakers lacked energy in the third quarter during their Game 3 loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The defeat puts the Lakers on the brink of elimination against the defending champions.
The importance of maintaining momentum after halftime has become a key issue for the Lakers, as they have struggled in third quarters throughout this series. In all three games, Los Angeles has managed to keep pace with Oklahoma City in the first half and even take leads, but they have been unable to sustain their performance after halftime.
“Well, I mean obviously the third quarter, we’ll start with that,” James said. “We didn’t have the energy, the effort and they put a thirty-plus point quarter on us. That kinda took care of the game right there, honestly. We had moments, obviously in the first half, that was really good for us.
“We did a good job of sharing the ball and knocking down shots. But that third quarter, we didn’t knock down shots. We didn’t defend or get stops, I would say. We defended, we didn’t get stops, and it allowed them to kind of take control of the game.”
James noted that over three games in this series so far, Los Angeles has been outscored by 31 points during just those crucial third quarters: “I don’t know, but obviously the numbers speak for themselves,” he concluded.
The team’s lack of depth compared to Oklahoma City has also become apparent late in games as fatigue sets in for key players like James. Meanwhile, Thunder players other than MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have contributed significantly when needed.
Alex Caruso addressed James’s continued impact despite his age following Game 1: “Everyone likes to talk about his age but it’s still LeBron James. He’s still very capable of being the best player on the court any given night that he’s playing the game,” Caruso said. “Just having that respect for him and then understanding that he’s very smart and uses the game to his advantage a lot with putting guys in position to create advantage and then take away advantage on the other end.”
Looking ahead in this playoff series, observers will be watching whether Los Angeles can find solutions for their second-half struggles or if Oklahoma City will advance further.
