Player grades: Thunder survive SGA’s struggles in 125-107 Game 2 win over Lakers

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Getting a rare one-on-one look, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander quickly took advantage of the breathing room. He shouldered through Luke Kennard before he went with a patented stepback 3-pointer. Swish. The reigning MVP performed his signature celebration as he served the dagger.

The Oklahoma City Thunder once again pulled away late in their 125-107 Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Following the same script, they’ve built up a 2-0 series lead.

If Game 1 was the most stressful 18-point playoff win ever, Game 2 was the most adventurous iteration. In a game that flirted with three hours, the Thunder looked like they were on the cusp of their first playoff letdown before eventually flipping the switch — all without Gilgeous-Alexander.

To start, it was the Thunder’s turn to rattle off the first seven points. Eventually, the Lakers settled down. Once again, they went with their radical game plan on blitzing Gilgeous-Alexander as soon as the ball was in his hands. He had to spam the L1 button on his controller every time to pass it out to an open teammate.

The Lakers welcomed that. Off to a cold start from deep, the Thunder had a 27-23 lead after the first quarter. It felt like it should’ve been more, though. Some classic leaving meat on the bone. The second frame seesawed things toward Los Angeles’ favor. Specifically, the outside shot.

Austin Reaves finally looked like the 20-point scorer he usually is. Rui Hachimura couldn’t miss from the outside. The Thunder had 30 points in the second quarter, but it was negated with the Lakers’ sizzling offense. The former entered halftime in a rare 58-57 deficit.

This was the first time the Thunder had faced adversity in the NBA playoffs. They’re the last team to proudly say they’ve yet to taste a postseason loss. To start the second half, the Denver Game 1 vibes only grew. Early on, Gilgeous-Alexander received a flagrant foul. He grabbed Reaves’ arm as he tried to stick to him.

Not even two minutes into the second half, Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul. Uh oh. The Lakers grabbed a 66-61 lead. It felt like things were about to unravel for the Thunder. Not having the reigning MVP is a death sentence for most teams. But OKC has morphed into an NBA win machine. That includes finding ways to win the minutes he’s off the floor.

Fueled by Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, the Thunder went on a game-altering 22-5 run. What a response. The Thunder bench reserves rallied back and built up momentum without a hitch. All while missing two All-NBA talents. You just don’t see that happen in any era of the NBA. But OKC has found ways to flex its depth at the biggest stage.

At the peak of OKC’s crowd noise, Jaylin Williams completed a big-time four-point play. Part of their third-quarter run, the Lakers had no answers. Without Gilgeous-Alexander for 10-plus minutes, the Thunder scored 36 points in the third frame. They had a 93-80 lead over Los Angeles.

Because of foul trouble, Gilgeous-Alexander’s usual rotation pattern was thrown out of whack. He helped the Thunder keep their distance on the scoreboard. After Reaves swiped at him to stop a transition bucket, the OKC crowd voiced their vitriol towards this officiating crew. One review after another, their support rate plummeted through the floor.

Alas, the extra officiating theatrics were all for naught. After the Lakers got it to within five points, the Thunder pulled away late. Alex Caruso found Cason Wallace for a corner 3-pointer. Gilgeous-Alexander finally got in a scoring groove and salvaged a subpar Game 2.

The Thunder had 32 points in the fourth quarter. They led by as many as 20 points. After it looked like most of the night that this would come down to the final possessions, they somehow cruised to another double-digit point NBA playoff victory. Ho-hum. Just business as usual for the NBA’s latest pending dynasty.

The Thunder shot 56% from the field and went 14-of-36 (38.9%) from 3. They shot 21-of-26 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 45 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 22 points amid foul trouble. Chet Holmgren finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Mitchell tallied 20 points and six assists. McCain dropped 18 points. Wallace had 12 points and four assists. Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Lakers shot 50% from the field and went 11-of-29 (37.9%) from 3. They shot 18-of-21 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 39 baskets. Five Lakers players scored double-digit points.

LeBron James had 23 points and six assists. Reaves finished with 31 points and six assists. Hachimura had 16 points and four rebounds. Marcus Smart struggled with 14 points and five assists. Kennard scored 10 points off the bench.

Already housing one Larry O’Brien trophy, we’re seeing the Thunder grow up in front of our eyes. Amazing the type of runway you have with one of the NBA’s youngest rosters. Even with two bad outings by Gilgeous-Alexander, everybody else has pitched in to make up the difference. These were textbook, well-rounded team wins where everybody had a moment or two.

The scary part is that the Thunder could play so much better. On offense, Gilgeous-Alexander has room to improve as an efficient 30-point machine. On defense, the Lakers were dead even with you through most offensive stats and it barely left a dent in OKC’s armor. We’ll see how this series changes as it shifts to Los Angeles, but it’s so far gone chalk.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C-plus

Tangled together at Gilgeous-Alexander’s midsection, Reaves’ gluey defense turned consequential. Not even two minutes into the second half, the reigning MVP’s nightmare start escalated into a bleak reality. Hoping to create separation, he accidentally flung the Los Angeles defender’s arms across.

After a lengthy review, Gilgeous-Alexander was handed an ultra-rare flagrant foul. To make matters worse, it was his fourth foul. Uh oh. Instead of panicking, the Thunder didn’t let the potential game-defining moment boil into frustration. They survived another meh game by their best player.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, two assists and two rebounds. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 7-of-9 on free throws. He also had one steal.

You gotta give the Lakers credit, they’ve somehow Frankenstein’d a defensive gameplan to make Gilgeous-Alexander look like his 2020 form. Blitzing him every time he had the ball, he’s seldom had time to think — much less space to hunt an isolation look.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 1 struggles translated over to Game 2. To make matters worse, he couldn’t stop committing costly fouls. Frozen at 11 points in the first half, he missed most of the third quarter due to foul trouble. Disastrous. Any other NBA contender would’ve folded under similar circumstances without their MVP candidate. Instead, OKC shrugged its shoulders and moved forward with a new formula for success.

Eventually, Gilgeous-Alexander salvaged some of his night. He scored nine points in the fourth quarter. Finally, he got to the rim and finished through traffic. He added an outside jumper for extra flair. The Lakers couldn’t find a counter to his one-on-one scoring talent as they quickly fell behind on the scoreboard.

I keep saying the Thunder need Gilgeous-Alexander to play a lot better, but two 18-point wins over the Lakers prove otherwise. It kinda breaks your brain and forces you to rethink some of basketball’s rules of thumb. I think things will normalize in Los Angeles. On the road, OKC will surely need the probable back-to-back MVP winner to play like it.

Chet Holmgren: A

Boxing out Reaves, Holmgren grabbed an important offensive rebound. He quickly went up for the putback layup. With three minutes to go, that zapped away any optimism from Los Angeles’ side of an improbable comeback fit for a Hallmark movie.

Holmgren finished with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds and three assists. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 5-of-7 on free throws. He also had four steals and two blocks.

Once again, Holmgren added to his NBA playoff mythos. When things looked like they were about to go sideways for the Thunder, he settled them down. The All-Star has played his best postseason hoops since he joined OKC. While Gilgeous-Alexander was sidelined with foul trouble, he anchored the second-unit lineup to blow this game open.

On offense, it was much of the same. A lot of meat and potatoes. Throwing multiple defenders at Gilgeous-Alexander, the Lakers conceded the numbers game. That allowed Holmgren to be left open around the rim. This helped him get plenty of dunks and layups. He had 16 points in the second half as he amped up his scoring aggression.

The outside jumper was also on point. That’s another marker of how much better he’s looked in these NBA playoffs compared to the last two. Holmgren has turned into a weapon from deep. In the last couple of runs, his outside shot tailed off as the Thunder played deeper into the postseason. Not this time.

On defense, Holmgren remains one of a kind. There’s a reason why he finished runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. The Lakers had better success inside the paint, but the seven-footer came up with timely stops to help the Thunder avalanche the scoreboard.

The Thunder have won two NBA playoff games despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s below-average numbers. Don’t think you could’ve said that much these last two years. Even with nearly impeccable roster continuity, they’ve discovered new ways to get wins. Holmgren’s breakout as an All-NBA-esque talent is the biggest development for that.

Ajay Mitchell: A-plus

Driving with ferocity, Mitchell went straight at the teeth of Los Angeles’ defenses. Nobody from their side could deter the 23-year-old from getting to the rim. He bumper-car’d into Adou Thiero before he went up-and-under for the circus and-one layup.

Mitchell finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, six assists and three rebounds. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 6-of-7 on free throws.

The Thunder keep adding more to Mitchell’s plate. And the 23-year-old continues to lick his plate clean. At the game’s highest stage, he’s morphed into OKC’s second-best player. Out of necessity — as Jalen Williams remains out and Gilgeous-Alexander turned ineffective.

It was the usual shot diet for the drive-heavy scorer. Battered and bruised, Mitchell didn’t let any physical ailments discourage him. He went headfirst at the basket like a running back. Nobody from the Lakers could stop him from going downhill. Once he saw a few go in, he felt confident enough to knock down some tough pull-up jumpers.

Overcoming Gilgeous-Alexander’s foul trouble, Mitchell scored 18 points in the middle quarters. The Lakers were shell-shocked. Usually, if you take the opposition’s best player off the floor, you see some sorta dip. Nope. The Thunder have actually run away on the scoreboard these first two games when the reigning MVP was chilling on the bench. Talk about a real brain-buster.

Oh, where would the Thunder be without Mitchell? He’s turned Williams’ absence into a fun fact more than a season-ender. Thrown to the deep end of the pool all year, he continues to calmly swim. His ascension has completely changed OKC’s dynamics — and for the better, obviously.

Jared McCain: A-plus

Clapping his hands for the ball, McCain stumbled his way to the rim. The 22-year-old showed he’s more than just a jump-shooter. He went with the fancy reverse layup to avoid Deandre Ayton’s rim contest. The baseline drive showed how much he was feeling himself after a flurry of buckets.

McCain finished with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He also shot 4-of-5 from 3.

Pure buckets. That’s McCain’s motto. Desperately needing to keep up with the Lakers’ high-scoring offense, he provided a charge off the bench. In his first NBA playoff run, he’s shown he’s not afraid of the moment. His motor helped him constantly move off-ball. That opened up looks for him from beyond the perimeter and at the mid-range.

Needing offense without Gilgeous-Alexander, McCain scored 13 points in the second half. The Thunder’s only roster change from last year’s championship squad has usurped Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins as OKC’s designated bench bucket-getter. It’s easy to see why, too. He’s been your classic scoring punch off the bench.

What a get McCain has been since the Thunder acquired him at the NBA trade deadline. Understandably so, playoff expectations were pretty low for him. Most viewed his addition as a long-term play by OKC. Instead, he’s helped out right away. And is now helping them get gutsy playoff wins.

What a story he’s been as Philadelphia 76ers fans have turned into Hulk-level anger. You can’t go one Thunder playoff game without seeing your social media timeline filled with folks across the NBA-sphere wondering why they gifted the reigning NBA champions duct tape to patch one of their few roster weakpoints.

Cason Wallace: B

After winning a chaotic jumpball, Wallace camped at the corner. Eventually, Caruso found him after splitting a pair of Los Angeles defenders. The 22-year-old delivered the knockout blow as he swished in a corner 3-pointer. He turned to the crowd on the way back and went with his gun holster celebration.

Wallace finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, four assists and two rebounds. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one steal and one block.

Making up for Gilgeous-Alexander’s limited action, Wallace joined in on the fun. He scored eight points in the fourth quarter to help put the Lakers away. That included two big-time outside jumpers. The Thunder showed that they can win in a multitude of ways. One being with their role players enjoying hot shooting nights.

Wallace’s performance flew under the radar, but he added to the bevy of Thunder players who reached double-digit points. On defense, they’ll need to watch film on what Reaves did differently. For the first time in two years, he finally looked like his borderline All-Star self. OKC has to shut that off as the Round 2 series moves to Los Angeles.

Highlights:

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder flex depth in 125-107 Game 2 win over Lakers

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