JJ Redick hasn’t heard any bell ring off. The Oklahoma City Thunder once again beat the Los Angeles Lakers in a 131-108 Game 3 win. Building up a bulletproof 3-0 series lead, it’s all but over. The Round 2 series has played out like chalk.
Even with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looking mediocre and Jalen Williams remaining sidelined, the Thunder have been the indisputably better squad. Three straight double-digit wins prove that. And without Luka Doncic, the Lakers have started to run out of gas with any scoring power.
Despite all that, Redick is going down with the ship — ala the band in the ‘Titanic’ movie. He’s fully supporting the Lakers until the Thunder officially deliver the knockout blow. Whether that’s in Game 4 in another series sweep or Game 5 back in OKC.
“In the third-straight game, we’re right there after two-and-a-half quarters, and we tried different lineups, tried different coverages, still lost those minutes again. We’ve gotta get better. But I’m not giving up on the series,” Redick said. “We’re gonna go try to win on Monday. We’re gonna try to extend the series, and we’re gonna try to take this thing back to OKC.”
While most mocked Redick’s comments, you can’t really blame the mindset. The Lakers will likely see their season end with a quick Round 2 exit. But it shouldn’t discourage their journey to get here — especially once Doncic sustained a season-altering hamstring strain in early April.
Redick has squeezed every drop of juice out of his current roster. Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged a forgettable 21 points and 5.7 assists. But the Thunder have proven to be simply too talented for Los Angeles to keep up. They’ve yet to be tested in the 2026 NBA playoffs. Potentially two series sweeps would be quite the way to start their hopeful back-to-back voyage.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: JJ Redick believes Lakers can mount 3-0 series comeback against Thunder
