Thunder rally past Lakers in Game 2, take 2-0 series lead in West semis

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Thunder rally past Lakers in Game 2, take 2-0 series lead in West semis image

Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

By Joel Reyes

The Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed a commanding 2-0 lead in their Western Conference Semifinals series with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday (PH time) after they recorded a convincing 125-107 victory in Game 2 at Paycom Center.

Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each scored a team-high 22 points for the Thunder, who used a third-quarter surge to swing the momentum in their favor. Oklahoma City finished the period on a 29-11 run to turn a 64-69 deficit into a 93-80 lead.

The Lakers didn't give up without a fight, unleashing a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to five points at 94-99 with 7:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

The Thunder immediately thwarted the Lakers' comeback bid, though, answering with an 8-0 run to restore their double-digit advantage with less than six minutes remaining in the contest.

OKC never looked back after that as it remained unbeaten in this year's playoffs with a perfect 6-0 slate.

Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain also contributed for OKC, scoring 20 and 18 points, respectively, in the rout.

Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

Austin Reaves bounced back from his poor shooting performance in the series opener, dropping a game-high 31 points. He shot 10-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.

LeBron James added 23 points and 6 assists in a losing effort for the Lakers, who will now head back to Los Angeles for Game 3.

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