Oklahoma City beat Los Angeles 115-110 in Game 4, completing a sweep of the Lakers and advancing to the Western Conference Finals with a perfect 8-0 record in these playoffs. For a few tense minutes, it looked like the Lakers might at least make the Thunder fly back to Oklahoma City. Instead, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the steering wheel late and drove the whole thing straight through L.A.’s season.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points and eight assists, giving the Thunder exactly what a closer is supposed to give: calm violence. Ajay Mitchell added 28 points, because apparently Oklahoma City’s bench now comes with star-making software pre-installed. Chet Holmgren chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds, and the Thunder survived a real Lakers push without ever looking emotionally bothered.
The Lakers fought. Austin Reaves scored 27, Rui Hachimura had 25, and LeBron James put up 24 points and 12 rebounds. But Los Angeles committed 19 turnovers, and against this Thunder team, that is not a flaw. That is a donation. OKC had 12 steals, kept poking at the game until it cracked, and left Crypto.com Arena with the sweep that feels like a warning to the rest of the NBA.
Eight playoff games. Eight wins. And still nobody has found the off switch.
