The Los Angeles Lakers lost on Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena, a result that left them on the verge of elimination after falling behind 3-0 in the series. Despite that, LeBron James appreciated the fact that they were still alive in the series.
LeBron expressed his feelings after the game, and it was clear his focus remained on Game 4. “I’m not angry or disappointed,” said James. “Obviously, you’re disappointed in being down 3-0, but we still have life, and that’s all you can ask for, and we have to be better on Monday.”
He finished with 19 points, six rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and zero rebounds in 36 minutes, but it was hardly enough to make a difference against this team. Still, he was not giving up just yet.
What JJ Redick thinks about the situation
With the Lakers down 0-3 in the Western Conference Semifinals, head coach JJ Redick was surely already reflecting on what went wrong in the series. While the Thunder were clearly the better team, going 7-0 in the playoffs so far, the Lakers did not help themselves with their frequent and costly mistakes on the court.
Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers.
That night, the story repeated itself from the previous three games, the Lakers fought hard, but they could not keep up with the defending NBA champions. For head coach JJ Redick, who had already shown his frustration during the series, the Thunder’s latest victory, 131-108, was proof of their talent and strength as a team.
“They’ve kicked our a** 3 straight games,” said Redick. “They’re an incredible basketball team.” Even though the Lakers went 0-4 against the Thunder during the regular season, Redick approached the series like any other, looking for ways to maximize their own advantages and exploit OKC’s vulnerabilities.
The Lakers had chances to win
The worst part was that the Lakers could have won this game. They were leading after the second quarter and had all the momentum on their side coming out of halftime. But once the Thunder improved their defense and their stars started to shine, the Lakers could not contain what followed.
They simply had too many NBA talented players, including promising guard AJ Mitchell, who finished with 24 points, a team-high, four rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and zero blocks while shooting 58.8% from the field.
“Third straight game, we were right there after two quarters,” Redick added. “Tried different lineups, different coverages, still lost those minutes again. We’ve got to be better, but I’m not giving up on the series. We’re gonna go try to win on Monday, and we’re gonna try to extend the series, and we’re gonna try to take this thing back to OKC.”
