Lakers at Thunder | Full Game Highlights | April 2, 2026

The Los Angeles Lakers, 50-26, 50 wins for a second consecutive season. And, of course, the Thunder, 60 wins or more for a third straight year. Here are the opening lineups. As we see, no Marcus Smart out again. Loravia will take his place. We know about Doncic, and LeBron is filling every category with his wisdom and his play. Jalen Williams, who Cass just talked to, is a guy we're watching tonight. Gilgis Alexander has been terrific. 47 against the Pistons, following a 30-point performance against the Knicks. Mark Dagnall, in his sixth season, 41-year-old head coach, is the man in charge of the defending NBA champions. And 41-year-old head coach, J.J. Redick, Stan, in his second season, another 50-win year for him. A fantastic start to your coaching career when you win 50 in your first two years. The regular season, Steve, is long, but when games like this pop on that calendar, and they do every once in a while, where they have really a lot to them, man, for a player, this has got to be as good as it gets. Well, it's great. One, you get to measure yourself against the best. Excellent. Two, they both want to stay where they are in the standing, so this game has a little extra sauce on it for a regular season, and they want to keep their rhythm going into the playoffs. Right. Our referees tonight. Crew chief is Ben Taylor, who's in his 13th season. Referee, Brian Forte, and his 19th, umpire, Brandon Schwab, in his sixth. And here we go, Lakers control. Oklahoma City has beaten them in the two previous games this season. Shot clock at two, Gilgis Alexander leading, firing, missing on the play, and picked up offensive rebound. Chandler Williams to the hole, feeding up top, and there is Hartenstein. Almost 40 a game in the last 13 games, he's made at least three three-pointers in 18 straight games. That jump shot by Williams was over the outstretched hand there of Austin Reeves. Good job keeping him in front, but just too athletic, too skilled, jumped over top, and now he gets a steal. Thunder in transition. On the wing, here's a free. Forte. The number one offensive key and the number one defensive key is take care of the ball, because they are great in transition. Thank you, Lou Dort. Power, power, power. They're showing me. You know this. In transition, there's nobody better. Unbelievable. Long shot, it's a free, and it's time to hatch again. Beautiful stroke, Lou Dort. Dort's made nine of his last 18 after going 14 for six. Shea is not hit until right there. He's one of four in his start, winning three straight in 15 of the last 16 games, Oklahoma City. The bumping, the spinning, the shooting, Shea coaches Alexander, the tip in, Hartenstein. They're almost unbeatable when they get balls up turnovers, get down in transition. They get their three-point shots, give them confidence, but then they get all those impossible little paint touches like that that they have a hard time generating in the half court. A fake, he'll fire the free. It's a Holmgren rebound. Oh, what a move by Shea, coaches Alexander. Wow. Reeves will defend, the bump and the dodge. It's the feed to Holmgren, who gets it on the doorstep with ease. I mean, it didn't look like this in March at all with this Laker team. What we're seeing is James in a nest of defenders. Aiden couldn't get it. That's an eighth turnover by L.A. on the wing door. He's already knocked down two threes. Make it three. The other Jalen Williams, J. Will has jacked in. It's Doncic. 0 of 4 so far. Reeves will put up a three. Austin Reeves cans one. Lakers still in that zone. It's Cho for three. He's not going to miss many. This guy's one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Fourth straight year, Steve, shooting over 40% from three with an effective field goal percentage over 60. It's Kanar, the number one three-point shooter in the NBA. Big challenge for the Lakers, trying to keep Shea out of the paint where he can score or create for others as he does right here. Stay hot. And now he's holding on to his left hamstring as we go. Gilgis Alexander on the fly. This guy is just so slippery, so mobile. Gilgis Alexander doubled. Got it to go. Off. It's picked up by Doncic. Luka has pushed the ball more lately in transition. Jackson Hayes on the doorstep for two. Oklahoma City comes in with the number one net rating in the league. Jalen Williams, three. Holy smokes. They cannot miss the six of eight from three. The number eight offense in the NBA, Gilgis Alexander. Submarines for two. The rebound by Jared McCain. They got him in a trade midseason with Philadelphia. He'll wheel and fire. Right to the rim in transition, not getting their defense set. He'll end up at the line. Hardenstein collects. That's good, D. I mean, those are the shots you want him to take. Hachimura's good in there, but he's a lot of pressure. Wow. Playing handball. Swats it away. Kayson Wallace, three. Mitchell trying for the rebound. He can't get those up if you're the Lakers. Hardenstein. He can't give up second chances now. LeBron, three. He was only shooting in the low 30 percentile. It's picked up here by Jalen Williams. They're only 15th in offensive efficiency and 15th in scoring. That defense has carried them. But tonight for Jalen Williams. They get to the paint on every possession. You see the joy, the energy in the production. His teammates even joke that they forget he's 41 years old. I know he doesn't. No, he doesn't. But, man, he sure doesn't look like it, but he keeps himself in such great shape. Seven for the team. Donchik is in. He's one of six. James is O of two. And Luka's got it here, but he is sworn with defenders, and he finds eight. After they strip demon, every possession is just a chore down here. Everything's a chore, but somehow Luka always finds something. Yeah, that's true. He finds an outlet. His size, his vision. First field goal in about six minutes for the Lakers. Mitchell got it. That guy's a heck of a player. Had he had more games? Number one in field goal defense. Rebound by James on the miss. Leading the break on the wing. Trivia. Will hammer it home. Well, that's the ideal for the Lakers. Mitchell cuts. What a feed. What a finish. Needs more time together. Shea Gilgis-Alexander on the bench. Jalen Williams and A.J. Mitchell together as the playmakers in this group. And it goes around the horn. Williams, oh, what a play as he tried to go in. Godfrey stays with it and puts it down. What perseverance. My gosh. He's so efficient, not only in the post, but at making plays for others. Gilgis-Alexander, 19-footer. That's his home. That's where he feels comfortable. He can do a little of everything, but that's his real go-to. Dodge it. Dancing, firing, nailing the three. Incredible shot. Great defense from Dorton. He still makes it. Gilgis-Alexander slicing his way inside. This guy is a special, special player. Shea and Luka get to the free throw line as much as any two guards in the league. A fake and drive. Surrounded by two, and he still gets it to go. Okay. He is putting on a show now. This is one of these nights of doing J.J. Reddick shoes. You're thinking now, why did I go into this? I mean, I've won a hundred games, but this is one of the nights you're saying. No one speeds Luka Doncic up, and they have him sped up just enough to where he's not himself. Oh, my God. How do you explain that? Free Eastern Saturday of beauty. Luka for three. Rebound Hachimura, who came parachuting out of the Raptors. That's it for the two. First second-chance points of the night. Shea tried to be the screener. Good adjustment by J.J. Reeves into Dort. Up high for Jackson Hayes. Kicking on the wing to the number one three-point shooter in the league, Canold. And picked up by Gilchrist Alexander. Three-time first-team All-NBA. And showing you why with a play like that. Jason Wall is swiping it every run. James and Dort. Shot clock at four. What a spin move for two. LaPron James. Third meeting this season. First time they've really been whole in the meetings this season. Reeves got the buck and gets the two. Tough buck. It's such a crafty player. Second half is underway. Dort came out four of four from three. Holmgren matches a triple to start the second half. They're going into the playoffs soon, and they're going to play teams they defend. They're going to take things away. They're going to make it difficult for them. So what can they find here? And they just found LeBron in the corner. The beautiful three. Trying to play better basketball against a quality opponent. You're playing for down the road, for improvement. You're not getting back in this. Gilchrist Alexander. Right now, like I said, what can you get out of it? I think you're right. Possession. Good possession. Create quality scoring opportunities at one end. Protect your basket at the other end. See how you can start to build. Going like you're going if you're the Thunder, right? Yeah, it is. But not for him. Not for him. Except for him. You can see it on the floor. This team plays every possession like they don't play the scoreboard. They just keep playing behind the head, which they usually are. He really is just a great playmaker in the short roles. Offensive, rebounding, defensive. Rebounding is so important. Let's hope this is nothing. He looks like he's in a lot of pain now. As well as they have been playing. We'll check in with Cass here in just a second. Dort flattening down that baseline. He goes down holding on to his leg. LeBron the other way. Five on four. He'll take it and hammer it home. That was a nasty fall. Now he's just rubbing his elbow over there. First-team all-defensive player last year. Terrific defensive player. He's gone to the locker room, as you can see. Holding his elbow, but also looks like he's uncomfortable with his back. Third-team history to do that two straight years. There is a shot and a three, and it's down by Isaiah Joe. You always had something to play for. I'd like to have that role right now. The Lakers are only down one in the quarter, and they'd have a point to play for. Isaiah Joe. That was a while ago. That was back in the NBA Cup days. Here's Bronny James II. Bronny's going to get some extended time tonight. That was Alexander with 26. Doubtful he'll play in the fourth, as is normally the case. Scoop it up, give him 28. Incredible. Oh, my gosh, what a finish. This team's still defending just as hard. Another turnover. Joe. He escapes, and he jams. And Hachimura. It's a shot clock at four as he bumps here into Mitchell. Wiggins is coming in for Shea Gildas Alexander. Would he be coaching? I don't think so. There he goes. Kicks it out. Joe will launch the three. Five threes for Isaiah Joe. Sneaking it in. Good feed. Hayes to the cutting canard. Didn't we just discuss during the break that Steve was going to take it, and Stan just jumped right in and talks about gravity. I did. I didn't feel like I was getting enough extension. That's good. So, I jumped in. Bronny James with a three to start the fourth. How their presence unlocks opportunities for themselves or their teammates expertly explained by Coach Van Gundy. Another three. Isaiah Joe has got the stroke. McCain, three, no. Brandon Carlson's in the game, second-year player from Utah. Oh, and a nice jam at the other end. Jokic in Denver. Wemby, who's not playing tonight, for San Antonio. Maneuvering is McCain. Got it. Wow. And we're two weeks from the start of the postseason, thankfully. But for him to get a 65th game in would be a week. Oh, my gosh. Nice pass. Kenridge-Williams will finish off. That was a good-looking pass. Vanderbilt, three. And caught by McCain. McCain. And there's a nice play. Really good battles coming east and west. The one that excites me or I'm eager to see is Charlotte because Charlotte's going to be in the play-in, and no one in the east is playing better than them right now. And you'd have to look at that right now and call those series almost a toss-up. And then you've got Philly. Paul George and Gerald Bede. Maxey coming back out of injury. They put up, like, 150 a few times in the last couple weeks. Good to see Jokic out there. Young man's been through a lot. Vanderbilt trying to shimmy. That's a three by Kwame James, his second off the bench. Onto an NBA floor, and now another step. Rejoining the Thunder, as you see here, after spending time in the G League with the OKC Blue, where he's been building his rhythm again. And Mark Dagnall said this. The network gods are hoping for a return from Luka. Here goes Vanderbilt, who takes it in hard over Carlson. Wow. You know, and right now they're in third. They'll still, even after tonight, be up on Denver by a game. Hopefully make sure he's back, or at least close to being back. Or if he's back, can he get a rhythm? So it's a byproduct of them having a good regular season has allowed them to hopefully survive this period. First losses, biggest wins, you see, for the respective teams. Jokic, Carlson, picked off Vanderbilt. Oh, boy, he's coming. He wants to play. And that's his second flush. We were expecting a different game, but the Thunder, well, they came out and played like a defending champion. That was an impressive performance by the Thunder. Shay, you all came out swinging, beating them in every which way in that first quarter, putting up 44 points. What did you feel like you wanted to establish, especially in a matchup that was supposed to have a playoff-type feel? Yeah, they were obviously playing really good basketball coming in here. And so we just wanted to put our best foot forward and see where we stood. We did so. We got off to a good start. We made shots earlier. But most importantly, we got stops defensively. I think they had like 21 points in the first quarter, and their offense had been really good. So that's pretty impressive. But yeah, we started the right way and then just rode the roller coaster for the rest of the game. And one word that just kept coming up throughout this game was just how you guys were absolutely relentless. What goes into you all being able to stay sharp, especially when you're beating a team by almost 40 points? It's that time of year. Habits matter. And the most important games are about to come up pretty soon, and we want to make sure all those habits are in place and ready to go come. We call it when the T-shirts are in the seats and the fans are going crazy. We want to have those habits in place and ready to go. Well, that's just around the corner. Congrats on the win. Absolutely. Thank you.