Lakers rout Thunder, stay third in West race

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Los Angeles Lakers torched the Oklahoma City Thunder with 22 made three-pointers and completed the road game test with a lopsided 126-99 victory on April 7, 2025, in the ongoing NBA regular season.

Entering the final stretch of the regular season with the aim of protecting the third seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers meant pure business and spoiled Oklahoma’s bid to grab the sure spot as the best team in the whole league.

A win over the Lakers would put the Thunder three games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers from the East, but the loss sparked chances for Donovan Mitchell and his crew to retake the throne.

Although Mitchell and the Cavaliers lost to the Sacramento Kings, they just trail by two wins behind the Thunder and will still have four remaining regular season games against Chicago, Indiana, and New York.

If they manage to sweep the four games, they will have a huge chance to secure the no. 1 overall top spot in the league and will have a unanimous home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Lakers made it rain from downtown that was just too much for the Thunder as they cashed in a total of 22 three-pointers (54%) as a team, and already unleashed 15 treys in the first half alone.

Los Angeles’ unconscious shooting from downtown was the most three-pointers that Oklahoma gave up in a half this season, resulting in a 64-42 lead heading into the second half.

Luka Doncic was in the zone and loved every flaming that the Oklahoma fans threw at him. Tested and proven on the road, the Slovenian superstar capped off the win with 30 points including five threes, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Doncic kicked off Los Angeles’ microwave scoring in the first half and abused every switch mismatch he had in the pick-and-roll.

After hitting several shimmy faders and one-handed floaters off split double teams, Doncic did more damage at the start of the second quarter after knocking down back-to-back three-pointers.

Picking up where Doncic left off was Austin Reaves who just shrugged off the tough defense deployed by Lugentz Dort. He finished the road win with 20 markers, three dimes, two boards, a steal, and a block.

Meanwhile, LeBron James, shot an efficient 9/14 from the field and stuffed the stat sheets with 19 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

In the first three quarters, Oklahoma never won a single frame and was outscored by 26 points before the final 12 minutes started.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still made buckets for the Thunder and chipped in 26 points and nine dimes but failed to earn a trip to the free-throw line for the first time this season.

Both franchises will quickly meet again for an immediate rematch on April 9, 2025, still to be played at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma.