After eliminating the Houston Rockets in a thrilling six-game first-round series, the Los Angeles Lakers are advancing to the second round of the NBA Playoffs! The West semifinals come with a high-stakes clash against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who enter the series well-rested after a dominant sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Overcoming regular season demons
If the Lakers want to advance to the Western Conference Finals, they will have to overcome a team that completely dominated them during the regular year. Oklahoma City swept the season series 4-0 against Los Angeles.
The defining storyline of this series might ultimately come down to health. During the final regular-season meeting between these two teams — a blowout win for the Thunder — both Reaves and Luka Doncic suffered injuries. While Reaves is back in the lineup to provide much-needed perimeter scoring, Doncic remains out. However, he is expected to make his highly anticipated return to the court at some point during this series.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder series schedule
Are you ready to catch every minute of the action? For fans looking to catch every moment of this epic Western Conference matchup, here is the complete schedule for the series.
Game 1: Tuesday, May 5 | Lakers at Thunder | 5:30 PM
Game 2: Thursday, May 7 | Lakers at Thunder | 6:30 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 9 | Thunder at Lakers | 5:30 PM
Game 4: Monday, May 11 | Thunder at Lakers | 7:30 PM
Game 5 (If necessary): Wednesday, May 13 | Lakers at Thunder | Time TBD
Game 6 (If necessary): Saturday, May 16 | Thunder at Lakers | Time TBD
Game 7 (If necessary): Monday, May 18 | Lakers at Thunder | Time TBD
