Oklahoma beat the Lakers, Cleveland bounced back against Detroit

While the current champions Oklahoma City Thunder reached the finals of the Western Conference with a dominant game, the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to close the gap against the Detroit Pistons in the East in an uncertain ending.

In Los Angeles, the Oklahoma City Thunder continued their winning streak and took a 3:0 lead in the series against the Lakers, winning convincingly with a score of 131:108. The hero of the night was Ajay Mitchell, who set career records in the playoffs with 24 points and 10 assists.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 23 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who are now a perfect 7-0 in this year’s playoffs and seven games against LeBron James’ team this season.

The third game was almost a copy of the second. The Lakers struggled to keep the connection until the third quarter, but then the champions kicked into high gear. Thunder won that period of the game with 33:20 and calmly brought the game to an end. Chet Holmgren added 18 points and nine rebounds. Despite the Lakers’ focused defense, Gilgeous-Alexander played his most efficient game of the series. Belgian guard Ajay Mitchell continued his streak, scoring at least 14 points for the sixth straight game.

For the Lakers, LeBron James scored 19 points with eight assists and six rebounds, while Austin Reaves added 17 points and nine assists, but both had a poor shooting night. Even Rui Hachimura’s 21 points were not enough for a serious resistance to the champions.

The team from Los Angeles is still weakened by the absence of Luka Doncic, the league’s top scorer, who is missing the 14th game in a row due to a hamstring injury. On the other hand, Thunder was missing the team’s third leading scorer, Jalen Williams, due to the same injury. Game 4 of the series is Monday night, also in Los Angeles.

In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers found the right solutions in the key moments of the third game and defeated the Detroit Pistons 116:109, reducing the deficit in the series to 2:1. After faltering at the end in the first two games, Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus led the Cavaliers to an important victory.

Mitchell led Cleveland with 35 points and 10 rebounds, Harden finished the game with 19, and Jarrett Allen with 18 points. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday, again in Cleveland.

The match was broken two minutes and 28 seconds before the end. With the score 104:104, Max Strus intercepted a pass from Cade Cunningham, drove to the basket and scored to give the Cavaliers the lead. That action marked the beginning of the end for the Pistons, and especially for Cunningham, who despite a great triple-double performance of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the finale, lost three straight balls.

James Harden, who was the target of criticism after the first two games, took responsibility in the end and secured the victory with several important baskets, including a key three-pointer with 25 seconds left for 113:109.

Tobias Harris added 21 points for the Pistons, who had their five-game playoff streak snapped.

(Vijesti.ba)