Thunder push Lakers to brink with 131-108 Game 3 rout, lead series 3-0

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the precipice of a second straight sweep. OKC ran the Lakers off the Crypto.com Arena floor 131-108 in Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference semis — and Ajay Mitchell, of all people, was the runaway story of the night.

The Belgian-born second-round pick dropped 24 points and 10 assists with zero turnovers in the win. He became the first player in Thunder (OKC era) franchise history with a 20-10 / no-turnover line in a playoff game. He's now averaging 20.7 points, 6.7 assists and 1.0 turnover in three games against the Lakers on 53% shooting. The MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't need to do much — 23 points, 9 assists in 32 minutes. Chet Holmgren added 18 and 9. Cason Wallace scored 16 off the bench.

The damage came after halftime. OKC trailed by two at the break, then outscored LA 74-49 in the second half. The Lakers are still without Luka Dončić (hamstring) for a 14th straight game and not expected back soon. LeBron finished with 19/6/8, Rui Hachimura with 21.

The Thunder are now 7-0 in the postseason. They get Game 4 in LA on Monday with a chance to sweep. No team in NBA history has ever come back from 3-0 to win a playoff series. The defending champs look ready to defend.