Apr 8, 2026 3 min read thunder recap

Thunder 123, Lakers 87: The Day After Report

Recapping the Thunder's win against the Lakers on April 07, 2026.

Nuggets & Notes

The FanDuel broadcast listed Lu Dort as Lu Dirt in the starting lineup graphic. To be fair, Dort has said multiple times he likes to muddy the games up.
OKC lost a challenge when SGA fouled Jarred Vanderbilt on a 3-point attempt. Vanderbilt missed all three free throws. All-time Ball Don't Lie moment.
Thunder vs. healthy Lakers last week: 139-96
Thunder vs. hospital Lakers this week: 123-87
Free Throw attempts: Lakers: 31, Thunder: 14. Even with no Luka, LeBron or Reaves, the Lakers whistle stays undefeated.
Kudos to the Lakers role players for making this a game for 1.5 quarters. That's 1.5 quarters longer than the Lakers stars made it a game last Tuesday.
First Take this morning, probably: "Are Luka, LeBron and Reaves holding the Lakers back?"
This matchup was tied 42-42. OKC closed the first half on a 23-5 run and essentially ended the game at intermission.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20+ points for the 139th straight game. Duh.
SGA: 25 points. 10-15 FG. 2-2 3PT. 8 assists. 2 steals. 28 minutes.
SGA has now sat out 25 fourth quarters this season. And he still leads the NBA in clutch scoring. (He leads both by volume and per-minute.)
Jared McCain had been going through his first small shooting slump as a Thunder player the last few games. He broke out of it in LA.
McCain had 15 points and shot 3-4 from three on the same day we published our "Nails" feature on the Thunder sharpshooter. Coincidence? Doubtful.

Isaiah Joe shot 6-8 from 3 against the Lakers on Thursday.
Isaiah Joe shot 6-9 from 3 against the Lakers on Tuesday. Nice... shooting, Strokin' Joe.
Thunder shot 21-41 from the 3 point line. 51%. Lakers shot 14-31 from the free throw line. 45%.
Chet Holmgren, by my completely unofficial count, has to lead the league in hits to the face this season. But Chet was on the other side of it tonight. Holmgren caught Adou Thiero with an elbow. No flagrant, as it was incidental contact. Thiero had to get eight stitches after the game.
Chet: 15 points. 10 rebounds. 2 steals. 2 blocks. 22 minutes.
Cool moment when the UCLA Bruins women's national basketball champs were honored during a timeout.
Cason Wallace was hyped for his girlfriend, NCAA champion Kiki Rice. The couple made a jersey swap after the game.
Isaiah Hartenstein only played 10 minutes. He hasn't been playing on back to backs. But could his minutes have been limited to play in tonight's must-win game against the Clippers? Possibly.