Austin Reaves had a chance to cut the Lakers’ deficit in half.
An open 3-pointer — a shot he typically makes — with Los Angeles trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder by six with 5:08 left in the third could have been the start of a turning point.
Except, Reaves missed.
Jaxson Hayes grabbed his teammate’s miss. He then turned the ball over.
OKC’s Lu Dort followed with a 3-pointer.
A six-point swing in a crucial moment. Then, it got worse.
Reaves followed with a bad pass stolen by Cason Wallace, who followed with a layup. An eight-point swing and 11-point Thunder lead.
Even if it didn’t feel that way to LA, it was all but over right then in a 108-90 loss to the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at Paycom Center.
“I think we did a good job managing their runs,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It never felt out of reach until the very end.”
As close as the scoreboard showed things the remainder of the way, the Lakers were simply short offensively against the best defense in the NBA.
No Luka Doncic due to injury coupled with a recouping Reaves is a recipe for trouble.
Doncic remains out with a hamstring injury he suffered in April against the Thunder. Reaves just completed his third game back from an oblique injury that cost him a month of the regular season and most of the first round vs. Houston.
“Nobody cares about that,” Reaves said. “I gotta go out there and play better.”
Reaves, the former OU sharpshooter, made just 3 of 16 shots and scored eight points in 36 minutes. He missed all five 3-pointers he attempted.
LeBron James did score a game-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting.
But as a team, the Lakers made just 41% of their shots, including 33% from deep. OKC shot 49% overall, 43% from 3-point range.
That left little margin for error for the Lakers.
“Once you make a couple mental mistakes, it seems like they take advantage of every single one of them,” Reaves said.
The Lakers can take solace in slowing down reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, holding him to 18 points and forcing seven turnovers, half of the Thunder’s team total.
Still, that’s not enough. The offense has to crack the Thunder’s defensive code.
“We’re playing against the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA as far as the ratings,” said James, pointing out the absence of Doncic. “When you play against great defenses, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times.
“I felt like we got some great shots tonight. We missed them. When you play against the world champions, having a guy averaging 34, 6 and 8 — 8 and 9, whatever the hell — that’s special.
Without Doncic, the Lakers will need more from Reaves. He knows he has to be better.
The Lakers believe he will be.
“He’s been out a month,” James said. “We know he’s going to make shots and make plays. But that’s tough. You’re out a month towards the end of the season.
“Obviously, we were trying to fast track him getting back on the floor and doing the things that he was doing before the injury, whatever the case may be, but he’s out a month. So, rightfully so if he has some games where he’s missing shots or whatever the case may be. But his presence alone helps us no matter what.”
Jacob Unruh is the deputy sports editor for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jacob? He can be reached at junruh@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support Jacob’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Austin Reaves’ struggles compound Lakers’ uphill battle vs OKC Thunder