LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� The Oklahoma City Thunder insist they haven’t been perfect during their NBA title defense.
Their record at the playoffs’ halfway point disagrees.
The Thunder completed their second straight series sweep of the spring Monday night when in Game 4 of the second round. Oklahoma City went 8-0 against LeBron James and the Lakers this season 鈥� and the defending champs are also 8-0 in these playoffs after and Los Angeles.
Sure, coach Mark Daigneault can see areas for improvement and problems to be solved. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander warns that the job is far from finished.
Yet the Thunder are unquestionably the class of the sport with this playoff streak following as they seek the NBA’s first back-to-back championships since Golden State did it 2017 and 2018.
General manager Sam Presti’s merciless machine is looking fairly unbeatable as it heads to the Western Conference finals for the second straight year and the sixth time in the past 16 seasons.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done our job so far, that鈥檚 all it really means,鈥� Gilgeous-Alexander said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e gone out there, we鈥檝e executed, we played at a high level and we鈥檝e been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. That鈥檚 all it really means. And nothing is guaranteed. In the playoffs, no two games are the same, especially when you change opponents. So the challenges are all coming up, I guess you can say.鈥�
The next challenge is a date with either the San Antonio Spurs or the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals 鈥� after several more days of rest than those teams, which heading to Game 5 on Tuesday night.
But whoever emerges from that rock fight of a series will face the NBA’s biggest challenge in the smooth, relentless Thunder, who appear to be operating on an even higher level than they reached last season while winning the title.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been very, very good,鈥� Daigneault said. 鈥淚 thought we had more lapses tonight than we had had in previous games, so we have to learn from that. Obviously we have to play better in more of the 48 minutes, but I also think the wind is going to be in your face in a playoff game for different reasons at different times, and you鈥檝e got to be able to recenter. I thought we did that exceptionally well.鈥�
The Thunder had never swept back-to-back playoff series, and neither did the Seattle SuperSonics before them.
The Lakers got blown out by Oklahoma City three times before managing one close game. The Thunder trailed in a fourth quarter for the first time in these playoffs, and their five-point win was the smallest of the spring.
But the Thunder rallied, as they almost always do.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. , the backup guard who has become a star in Jalen Williams’ injury absence, poured in 10 of his career playoff-high 28 in the same period. Chet Holmgren had arguably the biggest baskets of all, including a go-ahead dunk with 32.8 seconds left.
The Thunder celebrated a closeout quarter that seemed to feature a big play from everybody who touched the court. A few minutes later, they were back to business.
鈥淓verything that we鈥檝e done so far is behind us,鈥� Gilgeous-Alexander said. 鈥淲e still have a huge target on. We have two more series to win to reach our ultimate goal, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e focused on.鈥�
Los Angeles coach JJ Redick and his staff appeared to have a surprising, effective game plan to harass the Thunder鈥檚 scorers 鈥� and yet it didn鈥檛 make much of an impact on the scoreboard at all.
Daigneault found teachable moments during his team’s demolition of the Lakers, who sent double-teams at Gilgeous-Alexander and other ball-handlers at a rate they hadn’t seen since the Thunder’s playoff series with Denver a year ago.
In perhaps the most dismaying aspect of this series for the Thunder’s future opponents, they’ve learned and improved from the Lakers’ meager successes.
鈥淚t really had us having to sharpen our attacks, but I thought we did a great job of that,鈥� Daigneault said. “Down the stretch, we had some big-time plays (with) high-lows, traps, and we had a dunk for Chet. That was a great attack, and I just thought we showed great execution of that. So I think we鈥檙e a lot better in that area than we were coming into the series.鈥�
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