Thunder Dominate Lakers in Western Conference Semifinals Opener

Thunder fans go wild after Chet Holmgren's massive slam (0:22)

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Chet Holmgren had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points for the Thunder. The defending champions improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams with an injured left hamstring for the third straight game. The Thunder shot 49.4% from the field and made 13 of 30 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City will host Game 2 on Thursday.

Los Angeles struggled to find offense without scoring champion Luka Doncic , who has missed the past month with an injured left hamstring. LeBron James scored 27 points and Rui Hachimura added 18 for the Lakers. Austin Reaves , who averaged 23.3 points in the regular season, was held to eight on 3-for-16 shooting.

Oklahoma City won all four regular-season matchups by an average of 29.3 points, and this one was only slightly closer. The Thunder held the Lakers to 41.7% shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

The Lakers ran out to a 7-0 lead, with James scoring five of the points. Eventually, the Thunder shook off the rust from an eight-day break and went up 31-26 at the end of the first quarter, despite 12 points from James.

Holmgren's two-handed alley-oop dunk on a lob from Isaiah Hartenstein put the Thunder up 48-39. Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured the pinkie on his right hand on the play, left the game and did not return.

Oklahoma City led 61-53 at halftime, despite 16 points from James.

Mitchell, who started in Williams' place, made a corner 3-pointer and was fouled by Marcus Smart in the final minute of the third quarter. His free throw put the Thunder up 84-72, a score that held up until the end of the period.

Alex Caruso 's fast-break dunk early in the fourth put Oklahoma City up 88-73, and the Thunder maintained control from there.

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48690344/thunder-roll-lakers-game-1-west-semifinals)._