CHET Holmgren delivered a double-double as Oklahoma City Thunder dominated Los Angeles Lakers, 108-90, in Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) in Oklahoma City.
Holmgren finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Thunder, who remained unbeaten in the playoffs at 5-0 despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams for a third straight game due to a left hamstring injury.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell contributed 18 points apiece for Oklahoma City, which shot 49.4 percent from the field and knocked down 13 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Lakers opened the game with a 7-0 run behind five early points from LeBron James, but Oklahoma City recovered quickly and grabbed a 31-26 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Thunder maintained the double-digit edge in second and third quarter before they started to pull away in the final quarter at 88-73 following a fastbreak dunk from Alex Caruso.
The Lakers struggled offensively without Luka Doncic, who has been sidelined for the past month with a left hamstring injury. James paced Los Angeles with 27 points, while Rui Hachimura added 18.
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-101, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round series.
Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, James Harden had 22 points and Max Strus scored 19 for the No. 4-seeded Cavs, who pulled into a tie midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the night and by as much as 18 points.
Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was limited to two points and three rebounds, coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound performance in an elimination game against Toronto Raptors./PN
