Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals ‘simple’ strategy to beat Lakers in Game 1

The Oklahoma City Thunder were back in action on Tuesday night after a long layoff following a sweep of the Phoenix Suns in the first round, but they got right back to work. After a bit of a rusty first half, the Thunder ran away from the Lakers in a 108-90 win to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have his usual scoring output in this game, scoring just 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The Lakers threw extra bodies at him constantly, forcing him to give the ball up. The likely MVP talked about what that meant for his game on the court after the win.

Zora Stephenson: "You say you always have the answers, how much did you have to think about the test tonight?"

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: "Tonight was very simple. Multiple bodies, that means multiple people are open."

(via @NBAonNBC)pic.twitter.com/WlI0DbUJpZ

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 6, 2026

“It’s very simple,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Multiple bodies, that means multiple people are open. Just trust my teammates from there.”

It wasn’t always easy for the reigning MVP to deal with the extra bodies that the Lakers were throwing at him, as he turned the ball over seven times on the night. However, when he did get the ball to his teammates, good things happened. The Thunder shot 13-of-30 from 3-point range and got four triples from Jared McCain on his way to a 12-point game.

Ajay Mitchell also added 18 points for the Thunder, while Chet Holmgren led the way with a team-high 24 points along with 12 rebounds.

However, the defensive end of the floor is always where Oklahoma City makes its money, and that was the case once again in Game 1. The Lakers turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 42% from the floor on their way to just 90 points.

Look no further than Austin Reaves for an example of how the Thunder dominated on the defensive end. While he is still a bit rusty after coming back from an oblique injury, Reaves had a disaster of a game in Game 1, finishing with just eight points on 3-of-16 shooting in 36 minutes. LeBron James rode a hot start to 27 points to lead all scorers.

Simply put, the Thunder dominated the second half of Game 1 even without Gilgeous-Alexander dominating as a scorer. If he continues to be willing to give the ball up, it will be a long few weeks for Los Angeles.

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