{"id":634353,"date":"2026-05-10T07:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T07:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/634353\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T07:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T07:48:09","slug":"lakers-one-game-from-exit-as-thunder-and-cavs-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/634353\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers one game from exit as Thunder and Cavs win"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> moved to the brink of another Western Conference Finals appearance with a dominant 131-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> to take a commanding lead in the play-offs.<\/p>\n

The Lakers now face the daunting task of needing to become the first team in NBA history to overturn a 3-0 deficit.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played his part for the top-seeded Thunder with 23 points and nine assists, but team-mate Ajay Mitchell<\/a> was generally more accurate in his shooting and added 24 points and 10 assists.<\/p>\n

The Lakers had 19 points from 41-year-old LeBron James<\/a>, but he was not at his best as a team that again competed without the injured Luka Doncic<\/a> proved unable to stem the tide in a one-sided series.<\/p>\n

The Thunder were NBA champions last year<\/a> and look the team to beat once more. Gilgeous-Alexander had his highest-scoring game of the series despite missing nine of his first 11 shots. His form in the play-offs has been down on his return in the regular season, when he averaged 31.1 points per game.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, I haven’t been my best in performances, but I think I’ve been able to help the team win and that’s most important,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n

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“As long as we win. If the rest of the play-off run or the rest of my career look like what it looked like the past few games, I’d be OK with it because we won games.”<\/p>\n

In the Eastern Conference, Donovan Mitchell<\/a> produced a 35-point performance to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> to a 116-109 win over the Detroit Pistons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Victory at Rocket Arena was vital for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who cut the Pistons’ series lead to 2-1.<\/p>\n

Cleveland built a 16-point lead by half-time and, despite a Detroit surge led by Cade Cunningham<\/a>‘s 27-point triple-double, featuring 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Mitchell’s late free throws secured the win.<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks<\/a> are a game away from progress after a 108-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> on Friday, and the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> lead the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> 2-1 after a 115-108 win.<\/p>\n

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