NBA NEWS

SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER, THUNDER EKE OUT SWEEP-SEALING WIN OVER LAKERS

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 115-110 victory over the Lakers on Monday, completing a four-game sweep in what potentially was LeBron James’ final game for Los Angeles.

Ajay Mitchell logged 28 points, Chet Holmgren produced 16 points and nine rebounds and Jared McCain added 13 points as the Thunder improved to 8-0 in the playoffs. Oklahoma City is set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves or the San Antonio Spurs in the next round.

The defending NBA champions shot 51.9% from the floor while the Lakers shot 50.7%. Oklahoma City won all eight games against Los Angeles in 2025-26, including the regular season.

Austin Reaves put up 27 points while Rui Hachimura added 25 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who head into the offseason with major changes possibly in store.

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James, 41, amassed 24 points and 12 rebounds. He is now set to become an unrestricted free agent after a record 23 seasons in the league.

Jaxson Hayes added 18 points for Los Angeles, which played without Luka Doncic (hamstring) throughout its playoff run. Doncic was injured during a game at Oklahoma City on April 2.

Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining for a 113-110 lead, and Reaves missed what would have been a game-tying 3-point attempt with eight seconds left. Mitchell put the game away by sinking two free throws with 6.4 seconds to go.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before going on a 22-9 run to take a 76-75 lead with 2:03 left in the period after getting seven consecutive points from Reaves. Los Angeles extended its advantage to 84-80 heading into the fourth.

The Lakers led 92-87 before Mitchell capped an 8-0 run with a three-point play to give Oklahoma City a 95-92 lead with 6:14 remaining.

A four-point play from Hachimura, followed by a three-point play from Marcus Smart put the Lakers up 110-109 with 40.9 seconds remaining. A dunk from Holmgren gave the Thunder a 111-100 lead with 32.8 seconds left.

James missed a floater over Isaiah Hartenstein with 20 seconds left before Reaves and Smart missed late 3-point attempts.

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DONOVAN MITCHELL’S 39-POINT HALF LIFTS CAVS LEVEL WITH PISTONS AT 2-2

Donovan Mitchell scored an NBA-playoff-record-tying 39 points in the second half and finished with 43, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-103 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday.

The Cavaliers, who tied the best-of-seven series 2-2, put together a 24-0 run spanning halftime to stun the top-seeded Pistons. It was the most consecutive points in a playoff game in franchise history.

Mitchell matched the mark for points in a half by Eric “Sleepy” Floyd of the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 10, 1987, in the West semifinals.

After halftime, Mitchell made 12 of 18 field-goal attempts, 3 of 7 3-point tries and 12 of 13 free throws in 17 minutes.

The seven-time All-Star logged 21 points in the third quarter for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. Game 5 of the series is Wednesday in Detroit.

The Pistons won the first two games at home, while Cleveland was a 116-109 victory on Saturday.

James Harden had 24 points and 11 assists while Evan Mobley added 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots for Cleveland, which is 6-0 at home this postseason.

Caris LeVert scored 24 points off the bench for Detroit, while Cade Cunningham had 19 points, six assists and five turnovers. Tobias Harris recorded 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Paul Reed had 15 points.

The Cavaliers held the Pistons scoreless for 6:34 after Harris made a hoop with 31.1 seconds left in the first half, turning a 56-50 deficit into a 74-56 lead. Mitchell scored the first eight points of the second half, putting his team ahead for good.

Detroit completed a 23-5 run early in the second, fueled by 10 points from LeVert to go up 28-21. There were nine lead changes and three ties in the first half, which ended with the Pistons leading 56-52 despite committing 10 turnovers.

Mitchell had just four points at halftime due to 1-of-8 field-goal shooting.

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LEBRON JAMES: TOO SOON TO DETERMINE FUTURE PLANS

LeBron James wasn’t ready to make a decision about his NBA future in the wake of the Los Angeles Lakers’ season-ending loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

The visiting Thunder prevailed 115-110 to sweep a Western Conference semifinal series despite James registering 24 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

James, 41, just completed his record-setting 23rd NBA season, and the league’s all-time leading scorer is heading into unrestricted free agency.

“What my future (holds), I don’t know, obviously,” he said after the defeat. “I mean, this is obviously still fresh from obviously losing and I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know what the future holds for me obviously as it stands right now tonight.

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“I got a lot of time to sit back like I think I said last year after we lost, I think to Minnesota, to go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them and then when the time comes, I’ll obviously you guys will know what I decide to do.”

James was selected to his 22nd consecutive All-Star Game as he thrived in an unfamiliar role for much of the season. Luka Doncic was the Lakers’ top offensive threat, and he led the league with an average of 33.5 points per game. Austin Reaves ranked second on the team at 23.3 ppg, with James third at 20.9 ppg.

James contributed 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per contest.

Doncic missed all of the Lakers’ playoff games due to a hamstring injury. Reaves sat out the final five regular-season games and first four postseason games because of oblique strains.

In the playoffs, James averaged 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds.

“Obviously we fell a little short, but I’m not looking at my year as a disappointment, that’s for damn sure,” James said. “I was put in some positions I never played in my career before, actually in my life. I’ve never been a third option in my life.

“So, to be able to thrive in that role for that period of time and then have to step back into the role that I’ve been accustomed with over my career or my life playing this sport and be able to thrive under that and then just my teammates allowing me to lead them under extreme circumstances, I thought that was pretty cool for me at this stage of my career.”

Reaves, 27, also has a decision to make about his future. The 27-year-old guard has a $14.9 million player option that he is expected to decline to become an unrestricted free agent.

“It’s been fun. It’s been a joy. It’s been a grind,” Reaves said after the Lakers’ Monday loss. “A lot of things didn’t go our way this season and there were a lot of opportunities for us to quit, and you know, that’s not who we got in the locker room or the organization. Everybody stuck together.

“I’ve been around the NBA for five years now. I know a lot of teams would have given up (due to late-season injuries), and that wasn’t the case with this team.”

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