Sports
Lakers hurting for Luka Doncic as offensive slump continues in Game 1 against Thunder
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.
Injured Lakers star Luka Doncic greets teammate Dalton Knecht during the second half of Game 1 on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.
(Kyle Phillips / Associated Press)
“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.
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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The Sparks are finally in the win column, but the outcome was in doubt late Friday night.
Behind double-digit scoring from all five starters, the Sparks had by far their best offensive showing of the season, shooting 63.8% during a 99-95 win over the expansion Toronto Tempo.
The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball. Marina Mabrey missed a three-point attempt before late Tempo fouls gave the Sparks enough of a cushion to win.
Kelsey Plum nearly claimed a double-double with 27 points and nine assists, while Dearica Hamby had 19 points with seven rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points.
Erica Wheeler, who started in place of Ariel Atkins (concussion), scored 10 points with seven assists and was a plus-16 as the primary ball handler after starting the season two for 16 from the field. That freed up Plum to be in position to score, setting up a much more efficient Sparks offense.
Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.
The Sparks came out firing on Friday, opening with a 17-2 run.
The Tempo went on a 10-0 burst heading into the second quarter but the Sparks countered to maintain momentum and led 46-38 at halftime.
A Wheeler three-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 20-point lead. The Tempo cut it to three midway through the fourth while Brittany Sykes (27 points, seven assists) sparked Toronto’s rally. The Tempo put up more shots than the Sparks, 70-58, largely because of a 10-2 offensive-rebounding gap.
Cameron Brink’s 10 points were the only ones provided by the Sparks’ bench, while the Tempo got 42 points from reserves.
Toronto was coming off its first win in franchise history on Wednesday when it defeated Seattle but struggled against a more complete offensive team in the Sparks.
In her return to Los Angeles after winning a national championship with UCLA this spring, Tempo rookie Kiki Rice netted 11 points.
Kate Martin made her Sparks debut as a developmental player with Atkins and Sania Feagin (lower left leg) unavailable and picked up one rebound in six minutes.
The Sparks will face Toronto again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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