Thunder outlasts Lakers in Game 4 to complete NBA playoff sweep

Reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder stay undefeated successful playoffs and determination connected to Western Conference finals.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points arsenic ‌the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder precocious to the NBA Western Conference finals with a ⁠115-110 triumph implicit ⁠the Lakers connected Monday, completing a four-game expanse successful what perchance was LeBron James’ last crippled for Los Angeles.

Ajay Mitchell logged 28 points, Chet ⁠Holmgren produced 16 points and 9 rebounds and Jared McCain added 13 points arsenic the Thunder improved to 8-0 successful the playoffs. Oklahoma City is acceptable to look the ⁠Minnesota Timberwolves oregon the San Antonio Spurs successful the adjacent round.

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The defending NBA champions changeable 51.9% from the level portion the Lakers changeable 50.7%. Oklahoma City won each 8 games against Los Angeles successful 2025-26, including the regular season.

Austin Reaves enactment up 27 points portion ‌Rui Hachimura added 25 points and 8 rebounds for the Lakers, who caput into the offseason with large changes perchance successful store.

James, 41, amassed 24 points and 12 rebounds. He is present acceptable to go an unrestricted escaped cause aft a grounds 23 seasons successful the league.

Jaxson Hayes added 18 points for Los Angeles, which played without Luka Doncic (hamstring) passim its playoff run. Doncic was injured during ⁠a crippled astatine Oklahoma City connected April 2.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 2 escaped ⁠throws with 12.2 seconds remaining for a 113-110 lead, and Reaves missed what would person been a game-tying 3-point effort with 8 seconds left. Mitchell enactment the crippled distant by sinking 2 escaped throws with 6.4 ⁠seconds to go.

The Lakers trailed by arsenic galore arsenic 12 points successful the 3rd 4th earlier going connected a 22-9 tally ⁠to instrumentality a 76-75 pb with 2:03 near ⁠in the play aft getting 7 consecutive points from Reaves. Los Angeles extended its vantage to 84-80 heading into the fourth.

The Lakers led 92-87 earlier Mitchell capped an 8-0 tally with a three-point play to springiness Oklahoma ‌City a 95-92 pb with 6:14 remaining.

A four-point play from Hachimura, followed by a three-point play from Marcus Smart, enactment the Lakers up 110-109 with 40.9 seconds remaining. ‌A ‌dunk from Holmgren gave the Thunder a 111-100 pb with 32.8 seconds left.

James missed a floater implicit Isaiah Hartenstein with 20 seconds near earlier Reaves and Smart missed precocious 3-point attempts.

LeBron James, who finished with 24 points successful Game 4, is retired of declaration with the Los Angeles Lakers and mightiness person played his last crippled with the franchise [Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images via AFP]

Cavs level bid with Pistons

Earlier connected Monday, Donovan Mitchell scored an NBA-playoff-record-tying 39 points successful ‌the 2nd fractional and finished with 43, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-103 triumph implicit the visiting ⁠Detroit Pistons successful Game ⁠4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Cavaliers, who tied the best-of-seven bid 2-2, enactment unneurotic a 24-0 tally spanning halftime to stun the top-seeded Pistons. It was the astir consecutive points ⁠in a playoff crippled successful franchise history.

Mitchell matched the people for points successful a fractional by Eric “Sleepy” Floyd of the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers connected May 10, 1987, successful the West semifinals.

Mitchell had conscionable ⁠four points astatine halftime owed to 1-of-8 field-goal shooting. After the break, helium made 12 of 18 field-goal attempts, 3 of 7 3-point tries and 12 of 13 escaped throws successful 17 minutes.

“I apologised to the radical (at halftime),” Mitchell said postgame connected NBC. “… Trying to acceptable the code aboriginal successful the offence, and I didn’t bash that successful the archetypal half. I ‌came successful and told my guys, ‘It’s connected me,’ But I tried to marque a connection successful the 2nd half.”

Cavaliers manager Kenny Atkinson added, “Incredible performance, really, by Donovan. A big-time 2nd fractional for Don. When Donovan starts to get successful the unfastened court, that’s erstwhile he’s astatine his best.”

The seven-time All-Star logged 21 points successful the 3rd 4th for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. Game 5 of the bid is connected Wednesday successful Detroit.

Donovan Mitchell, right, scored a series-high 43 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers successful Game 4 against the Detroit Pistons [Jason Miller/Getty Images via AFP]