With 2:53 left in the first half, Austin Reaves found Rui Hachimura on a no-look dime for a left-corner pocket triple to give Los Angeles a 52-49 lead over the OKC Thunder.
That play highlighted the stark contrast between Game 1 and Game 2 for the Lakers, putting them on the precipice of stealing home-court advantage.
Hachimura made four of his seven three-point attempts. The Lakers as a whole shot 11-for-29 from deep (37.9 percent). Reaves regained his offensive form before his injury, finishing with 31 points and six assists. He and LeBron James (23 points and six assists) combined for 54 points and 12 dimes to lead LA.
Maybe most importantly, though, was the Lakers' ability to somewhat contain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the second-straight game. While the reigning MVP finished with 22 points, the aggressive defense and double teams forced him into three offensive fouls.
Overall, the Lakers were in good shape to potentially steal a game on the road. They did everything well except one pretty key thing: take care of the basketball.
Lakers’ turnovers throw away a near-perfect game against Thunder
With everything else seemingly falling into place for Los Angeles (star contributions, solid three-point shooting, limiting opposing superstars, etc.), 20 turnovers and 26 points allowed directly as a result ultimately wrote their obituary.
The Lakers have struggled with ball security throughout the playoffs, averaging the most turnovers up to this point with 17.7 per night. Across two games against the defending champs, that number is up to 19, and they are allowing 23 points off takeaways.
After “only” having eight turnovers in the first half, LA coughed it up seven times in the third quarter alone, en route to being outscored 36-22 in the period.
If that wasn’t bad enough to read as a Laker fan, just wait until they realize that Gilgeous-Alexander only played 86 seconds in the period, and the Thunder still managed to outscore the Lakers 36-22.
Oklahoma City's depth obviously showed up with Gilgeous-Alexander plagued by foul trouble, as they finished with 48 bench points. But even with that production, Los Angeles did most of the damage to itself.
When everything outside of turnovers is working, it’s important to capitalize, and the Lakers didn’t.
Finishing the job with such circumstances is easier said than done when going against one of the best teams ever, but if the Lakers were to have any chance of getting at least one game, Game 2 was probably it.
And it slipped right between their fingers.
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