Thunder overpower Lakers, Pistons edge Cavaliers to take 1-0 series leads
Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons secured 1-0 leads in their respective NBA playoff series openers on Tuesday.
Mehmet Şahinoğlu ·
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City to take a 1-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference semifinal series.
Chet Holmgren posted 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell added 18 points apiece. Oklahoma City’s defence held the Lakers to their lowest playoff points total since 2021. LeBron James led Los Angeles with 27 points.
In the Eastern Conference semifinal opener, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 in Detroit to go up 1-0.
Cade Cunningham scored 23 points for Detroit, with Tobias Harris adding 20 and Duncan Robinson contributing 19. The Pistons led comfortably before Cleveland cut the deficit to four points asourceser a second-half rally, but Detroit pulled clear in the fourth quarter. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 23 points, and James Harden added 22.
Both series are best-of-seven, with Game 2s to follow as the Thunder and Pistons look to build on home-court wins and the Lakers and Cavaliers try to respond.