OKLAHOMA CITY — The answer to the Lakers’ slumping offense sat hunched in a chair in the corner of the visitors’ locker room at Paycom Center. Luka Doncic, dressed in a black T-shirt and pants, scrolled on his phone, cornered off by a wall of reporters who all faced LeBron James looking for reasons behind a postseason dry spell.

“We have a guy that averages 37 [points] a game [out],” James said. “Thirty-three-and-a-half. … There’s the issue right there.”

Since Doncic suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in this arena on April 2, the Lakers used heroic performances from James, suddenly hot shooting and stout defense to paper over the absence of their leading scorer. But Tuesday’s 108-90 Game 1 loss against the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder showed just how much the Lakers miss Doncic.

On a night they limited Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a season-low 18 points and a season-high seven turnovers, the Lakers still never got closer than 11 points in the fourth quarter. The reigning most valuable player scored fewer than 20 points in a game for the first time since May 24, 2025.

The Lakers slugged their way through a defensive battle against the Houston Rockets in the first round, but their offense started lagging midway through the series. They’ve scored fewer than 100 points in four consecutive games, three of them losses. The team that shot a league-leading 50.2% during the regular season has dipped to 46.5%. Their 99.6 points per game in the playoffs is the lowest for any team still playing in the conference semifinals.

“When you play against great defense, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times,” said James, who led the Lakers with 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting. “I feel like we had great shots. We got some great shots tonight, we missed them.”

The Lakers shot 10 for 30 from three-point range. In the first round, the Lakers shot better than 40% from three in all four of their wins compared to no better than 25.9% in their two losses.

The Thunder allowed the seventh-most three-pointers per game during the regular season. Hoping to exploit the weakness, the Lakers got up 30 three-pointers, a relative improvement from their first-round series average of 25.5 per game.

But forward Rui Hachimura, who shot three for six from three, said the team can afford to shoot even more.

Luke Kennard, who burst into the postseason with 50 combined points in Games 1 and 2 against the Houston Rockets, shot only one for three from three. Lakers coach JJ Redick lamented that the NBA’s best three-point shooter passed up some good shots.

The Lakers struggled to generate three-pointers in the aftermath of injuries to Doncic and Austin Reaves. Reaves’ return hasn’t fully jump-started the offense as the guard regains his rhythm after a left oblique strain that sidelined him for four weeks.

Reaves was 0 for five from three in his third game back. He is two-for-17 shooting from distance in the playoffs and had just eight points on three-for-16 shooting Tuesday.

“I got to get my spots multiple times and just missed a couple of easy shots,” Reaves said. “But for the most part, you got to limit the turnovers. They pressure the ball really well, just got to give us an opportunity to get a shot on goal every possession.”

The Lakers committed 18 turnovers that led to 20 Oklahoma City points, including 15 in the second half. Redick identified turnovers as the Lakers’ top priority against the most disruptive defense in the league, especially after the Lakers averaged 17.7 turnovers per game during the first round of the playoffs.

The Lakers miss Doncic’s 33.5 points a game, but against such an aggressive defense, they also ache for his ball handling that could ease the pressure on Reaves (four turnovers), Smart (two) and James (two).

“We decided we’re just going to be enough with what we have,” Hachimura said. “But I think those kinds of stuff [Doncic does] — the playmaking, especially against a team like these guys, they pressure the ball — Luka, with his size and his ball handling, everything, he could have been a good playmaker for sure.”

Doncic has increased some of his on-court work recently by incorporating movement into his shooting, but had not progressed to live contact by the time the series began. He posted a photo of himself lifting weights on his Instagram story on Monday, but Redick didn’t give any updates on the star guard’s status.

In the locker room after Tuesday’s game, teammates sat with their feet submerged in buckets of ice and ice packs wrapped around their joints. In his corner between the lockers for James and Reaves, Doncic turned to the side as reporters passed by.

WWE star Chelsea Green revealed Monday she underwent a “heart procedure” as she shared photos of herself and husband Matt Cardona from her hospital bed.

Green said doctors caught her SVT. The Mayo Clinic says that SVT, or supraventricular tachycardia, is a “type of irregular heartbeat, also called an arrhythmia. It’s a very fast or erratic heartbeat that affects the heart’s upper chambers.”

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The two-time WWE women’s United States champion said she had been dealing with the issue for 10 years.

“After 10 years, doctors finally caught my SVT and I was able to get a heart procedure done! 3 hours later and I’m on the mend,” she wrote on Instagram.

On Tuesday, she added on X: “My latest episode during WrestleMania pushed my resting heart rate to 228 for almost 15 minutes. Yesterday, Dr. Girgis spent 3 hours working on me… and I had to be awake for the last hour of the procedure!! “

She said the procedure was minimally invasive and expected to be back to work soon.

Green has had her share of bad luck over the last few months. She suffered an ankle injury that has kept her sidelined for several months, keeping her off the WrestleMania 42 card.

In February, Green and Ethan Page dropped the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship to Mr. Iguana and Lola Vice.

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Pro wrestling fans are eagerly awaiting her return to the ring.

On the final day of the regular season for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, catcher Jacob Madrid put together a game to remember. The senior hit three home runs in a 7-1 road victory over Loyola. The Knights claimed third place in the Mission League.

Madrid raised his season total to 11. He had a solo home run in the second inning to right field, a three-run home run in the third to right field and a solo home run in the sixth to left field.

Not even major leaguer Giancarlo Stanton was able to hit three home runs in a game during his two years playing for the Knights.

“It was surprising because I was honestly trying for line drives the opposite way,” Madrid said.

Madrid, an Oregon commit, said the Knights are ready for the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Pairings will be announced Saturday at 1 p.m.

Orange Lutheran 6, Mater Dei 5: The Lancers won it on a walk-off RBI double by Eric Zdunek in the bottom of the ninth. Mater Dei had a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth with two out when Ricardo Hurtado hit a fly ball that couldn’t be caught, resulting in a tying run. CJ Weinstein homered for Orange Lutheran. Hamilton Friedberg and Jordan Kurz each had three hits. The loss leaves Servite in third place in the Trinity League.

Harvard-Westlake 10, Crespi 0: Ethan Price and Louis Lappe each had three hits for Harvard-Westlake, which clinched at least a share of the Mission League title with one game to play.

Sierra Canyon 6, Bishop Alemany 5: Home runs by Cody Gallegos and Mikhal Johnson rallied the Trailblazers, who clinched second place in the Mission League. Brody Thompson hit a home run for Alemany, which finished in fourth place.

Chaminade 1, St. Francis 0: The Eagles got their second 1-0 victory of the week. Jackson Schroeder and Bronson Jackson combined for the shutout. Jackson also drove in the only run.

El Camino Real 1, Granada Hills 0: Jackson Sellz threw a three-hit shutout and Ryan Glassman drove in the game’s only run with an RBI single in the sixth. The Royals, after being swept by Birmingham last week, needed a win to stay in the running for a No. 2 playoff seed.

Etiwanda 3, Upland 1: The Baseline League champions continue to move up the Division 1 rankings. Michael Aleman went the distance, striking out nine. Luke Severns hit a two-run home run.

Servite 1, Cypress 0: The Friars had three pitchers combine for the shutout. Mikey Cabral drove in the game’s only run and finished with two hits.

Santa Margarita 9, Capistrano Valley 0: Cooper Holland had a home run and Tyler George struck out eight while allowing no hits and no walks in 3 1/3 innings.

Covina 10, Hacienda Heights Wilson 0: Donovan Johnson threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts.

Troy 4, South Pasadena 3: Troy coach Scott Pearson earned his 600th coaching victory and his son, Jaden, led off the sixth inning with a double and scored the winning run.

Softball

Murrieta Mesa 13, Chaparral 0: Lilly Hauser threw a five-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts. She also hit a home run.

Orange Lutheran 3, Santa Margarita 0: Rylee Silva threw a complete game, and the Lancers won the Trinity League title.

Mater Dei 9, JSerra 5: The Monarchs handed a rare defeat to JSerra pitcher Liliana Escobar. Savanah Duncan hit a grand slam.