Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 35 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder stormed into the Western Conference finals with a 115-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, sealing a commanding four-game sweep in what could prove to be LeBron James’ final appearance for Los Angeles.
Ajay Mitchell added 28 points, while Chet Holmgren chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds and Jared McCain scored 13 as Oklahoma City stretched its perfect postseason run to 8-0.
The Thunder will next face either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals.
“We’ve done our job so far,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve gone out there, executed at a high level and won eight tough games against really good opponents. That’s all it means right now. Nothing’s guaranteed.”
The defending NBA champions shot 51.9% from the field, narrowly edging the Lakers’ 50.7%, and completed a dominant season sweep by winning all eight meetings against Los Angeles across the regular season and playoffs in 2025-26.
Austin Reaves scored 27 points while Rui Hachimura added 25 points and five rebounds for the Lakers, who head into the offseason with major changes potentially looming.
“For the things that we set out to do and build our championship habits and build our championship communication, I thought we were darn close to doing that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to win a championship, but I take a lot of pride in our players and what they all individually went through, what we collectively went through and what we turned out to be.”
James, 41, finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. He is now set to become an unrestricted free agent after a record 23 seasons in the league.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me obviously as it stands right now tonight,” James said. “I got a lot of time to sit back, like I think I said last year after we lost.”
Jaxson Hayes added 18 points for Los Angeles, which played without Luka Doncic (hamstring) throughout its playoff run. Doncic was injured during a game at Oklahoma City on April 2.
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining for a 113-110 lead, and Reaves missed what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left. Mitchell sealed the game by sinking two free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before going on a 22-9 run to take a 76-75 lead with 2:03 left in the period after seven consecutive points from Reaves. Los Angeles extended its advantage to 84-80 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lakers led 92-87 before Mitchell capped an 8-0 run with a three-point play to give Oklahoma City a 95-92 lead with 6:14 remaining.
A four-point play by Hachimura, followed by a three-point play from Marcus Smart, put the Lakers ahead 110-109 with 40.9 seconds remaining. A dunk by Holmgren gave the Thunder a 111-110 lead with 32.8 seconds left.
James missed a floater over Isaiah Hartenstein with 20.3 seconds remaining before Reaves and Smart missed late 3-point attempts.
“They threw a lot of defensive looks at us,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of the Lakers. “I think we’re a better team at the end of the series than we were at the beginning, and that’s a credit to them.”
