{"id":434437,"date":"2026-05-10T06:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/434437\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T06:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:50:13","slug":"lakers-receive-reality-check-from-shai-gilgeous-alexander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/434437\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Receive Reality Check From Shai Gilgeous-Alexander"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Shai\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sends message to OKC Thunder’s Round 2 opponents. <\/p>\n

The LA Lakers have zeroed in on holding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> throughout the Western Conference semifinals, but it has yet to result in a win. Since Game 1, the Lakers have been double-teaming Gilgeous-Alexander in almost every possession and have held him to under 25 points in all the games so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander reflected on being the focal point of the Lakers\u2019 defensive game plan, saying that as long as the Thunder continues to win, he is fine to take a step back and let his supporting cast take over the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it hasn\u2019t been my best performance,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 3. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to help the team win, and that\u2019s most important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we win. If the rest of the playoff run or the rest of my career look like what it looked like the past 3 games, I\u2019m OK with that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

SGA: \u201cObviously hasn\u2019t been my best performance. I\u2019ve been able to help the team win, and that\u2019s most important. As long as we win. If the rest of the playoff run or the rest of my career look like what it looked like the past 3 games, I\u2019m OK with that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander put up 23 points, his highest scoring output so far in the series, in Game 3, along with four rebounds and nine assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was not the leading scorer in the game as Ajay Mitchell<\/a>, the team\u2019s secondary ball initiator, tallied 24 markers to steer the Thunder to the win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chet Holmgren<\/a> also provided stability with 18 points on top of bench players\u2019 Cason Wallace<\/a> and Isaiah Joe\u2019s production, who had 16 and 12 points, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Game 2, Gilgeous-Alexander only had 22 points. In Game 1, the Thunder superstar and MVP frontrunner only had 18 points, his lowest scoring output since Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the double teams on SGA, the Thunder has found success in executing off the backline and oftentimes in four-against-three situations en route to being undefeated in the series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander Opens Up On How He Lifts Teammates in the Lakers Series\"Shai<\/p>\n

GettyOklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reflects on subpar performances.<\/p>\n

The Lakers have been aggressive in trying to stop Gilgeous-Alexander, but his teammates have pounced on his attention and carry the cudgels since then.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the Lakers\u2019 defensive game plan, Gilgeous-Alexander told his teammates to remain ready and push them to succeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter who comes through that door, I try to help them succeed and excel in their career and their skills and whatever it is that I can help them. I think that\u2019s it\u2019s just natural,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Thunder is now 7-0 in the playoffs, becoming the first defending champion since the 2016-2017 Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> to win seven straight playoff games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All this while SGA\u2019s co-star Jalen Williams<\/a> has been on the sidelines due to a Grade 1 hamstring injury, which he picked up during Game 2 of the first round against the Phoenix Suns<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick Reflects On Losses Against the Thunder\"Head<\/p>\n

GettyLos Angeles Lakers Head coach JJ Redick<\/a> on losses against the Thunder.<\/p>\n

JJ Redick felt the Lakers had been losing badly against the Thunder over the past three games. The Lakers head coach also factored in Gilgeous-Alexander and how the Thunder has overcome them throughout the series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MVP scores 18, 22, 7-of-20 tonight, and they\u2019ve kicked our ass three straight games. They are an incredible basketball team,\u201d Redick said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Lakers still have a chance to steal one in the series on Game 4 in Los Angeles on Monday, May 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tRob Andrew Lo<\/a> Rob Andrew Lo is a writer at Heavy Sports and is covering the NBA. He has covered local, collegiate, professional and international sports in various sites. He was the sports editor of The Varsitarian, the official student publication of University of Santo Tomas, and a sports, entertainment, and lifestyle writer for Rappler.
\n
\nA Journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, he has built his voice across both collegiate and international platforms, previously contributing NBA coverage to Fansided and Sportskeeda.
\n More about Rob Andrew Lo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sends message to OKC Thunder’s Round 2 opponents. The LA Lakers have zeroed in on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-434437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}