Plaschke: Turn out the lights on the Lakers; after second loss to Oklahoma City, it's over - BERITAJA

They person agelong since proven themselves arsenic an endlessly efforting Laker squad that ne'er believes they’re beaten.

They’re beaten.

With the benignant of resounding resilience that had earlier carried them to playoff wins without their 2 starring scorers, these Lakers person shown they desperately do not want this play to beryllium over.

It’s over.

The Oklahoma City Thunder overcame different valiant Lakers complaint Thursday nighttime to win their 2nd game successful 2 tries successful the Western Conference semifinals astatine Paycom Center.

The Lakers played hard, played tough, played the Thunder from baseline to baseline, played beardown capable to alert location pinch pride.

And still mislaid by 18.

The 125-107 Thunder victory gives the defending champions a two-games-to-none lead successful a bid that is scheduled for arsenic galore arsenic 7 games.

It’s not lasting anyplace adjacent that long.

It’s complete correct here, correct now, the Lakers having absorbed consecutive 18-point smackdowns by a squad whose reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has hardly shown up.

The Lakers whitethorn bargain a crippled backmost astatine Crypto.com Arena this weekend, but that would beryllium the only one, it being unthinkable that this mismatch will past much than 5 games.

“You’re starting to spot immoderate trends here,” said Laker coach JJ Redick.

The main inclination is that the Thunder conscionable person amended players, and much of them, witnesser a game-changing 3rd 4th Thursday successful which they outscored the Lakers 36-22 contempt the foul-plagued Gilgeous-Alexander playing little than 2 minutes.

Ten different Thunder players scored aliases rebounded successful that quarter. The Lakers had arsenic galore turnovers arsenic baskets — seven! — while surrendering 11 points disconnected those mistakes and blowing a one-point halftime lead forever.

Have you moreover heard of Ajay Mitchell? You person now. He scored 20. How galore casual NBA fans knew that Jared McCain played for Oklahoma City? They cognize now. He scored 18 while missing pnly 1 of 5 three-point attempts.

“We conscionable sewage blitzed,” said Redick, and this shorthanded squad has proven they simply don’t person capable blockers to slow that blitz.

Overall the Lakers committed 21 much turnovers, giving up 26 points disconnected the mistakes while paying dearly for each errant dribble aliases misfired walk against the swarming Thunder defenders.

Austin Reaves bounced backmost from his disastrous Game 1 pinch 31 points and LeBron James was LeBron pinch 23 points and Rui Hachimura continued his scorching shooting pinch 16.

But it wasn’t adjacent enough. It wasn’t adjacent to being adjacent enough, and please, extremity whining that the referees grounded to telephone capable fouls connected the fierce Thunder. Their opponents ever whine about that, and Reaves moreover stayed connected the tribunal aft Thursday’s last buzzer to vent to the referees about that, but conscionable … don’t.

The Lakers only changeable 5 less free throws, and Gilgeous-Alexander was deed pinch his 3rd foul soon aft halftime, and, again, they mislaid by 3 touchdowns.

“We didn’t suffer because of the refs … Oklahoma City outplayed us,” said Redick.

Still, Redick responded to the truth that, while Gilgeous-Alexander has changeable 12 free throws this series, James has changeable only five.

“The smaller guys, because they could beryllium theatric, they typically tie much fouls and the bigger players that are built for illustration LeBron, it’s difficult for them,” said Redick. ”He gets clobbered. He sewage clobbered again coming a bunch. And that’s not for illustration a caller thing. That’s not circumstantial to this unit aliases this series, he gets fouled a batch and it doesn’t happen. The feline gets deed connected the caput much than immoderate subordinate I’ve seen connected drives, and seldom gets called.”

They erstwhile said the aforesaid point about Shaquille O’Neal, and he won 3 consecutive championships present so, no, let’s walk connected the rhetoric and judge the reality.

This play is over, and the sooner Lakers fans judge the inevitability while applauding the effort.

This bid really ended connected the time disconnected betwixt Games 1 and 2, pinch the injured Luka Doncic formally acknowledging that doctors person told him betterment from his strained near hamstring would return 8 weeks. And he’s only been retired 5 weeks.

Do the math. He’s not coming backmost successful this series, nor should he. His semipermanent wellness isn’t worthy risking to prevention a wholly mislaid cause.

“It’s a reliable 1 for maine because I came backmost from injuries earlier excessively soon, and it wasn’t the champion result,” Doncic said Wednesday.

Without him against Oklahoma City, it was ever going to beryllium the worst result, and truthful it has been.

Hopeless but hearty, the Lakers forged up Thursday, and still clung to a one-point lead midway done the 3rd 4th erstwhile the rickety wheels came wholly off.

James mislaid the shot twice. Marcus Smart, who missed 9 of 13 shots, threw up a brick. Deandre Ayton, who missed 7 of 8 shots, had a mates of bad misses. And McCain, the Thunder‘s backup guard, was unstoppable, sinking 2 large treys successful the 4th arsenic Oklahoma City rolled to a 13-point lead entering the last period.

The Lakers momentarily came roaring backmost successful the 4th fourth down a James layup and three-pointer, going connected a 7-0 tally to propulsion wrong 4 points midway done the quarter. But Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace deed three-pointers while Smart was fumbling the shot and James and Hachimura were missing shots, while Oklahoma City’s 8-0 tally gave them different 13-point lead that was ne'er again challenged.

Afterward, James said pinch arsenic overmuch optimism arsenic he could muster.

“We played good successful spurts … we had a bully crippled plan,” he said. “We tried to execute it arsenic adjacent to 48 minutes arsenic possible, but it conscionable didn’t get done.”

Against the world champions, spurts don’t get it done, and little than 48 minutes doesn’t get it done.

The Lakers person occasionally been tantalizingly close, but there’s a clear absence present of immoderate cigar, and nary chance of 1 stepping done that door.

It was nosy while it lasted, and it lasted longer than about would person imagined.

But it’s over.