Luke Kennard points to key fix Lakers need to overcome Thunder

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard finally broke out of his shooting slump, contributing decent numbers in their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2, 125-107, of their second-round series in the playoffs at Paycom Center.

Kennard had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, in 26 minutes off the bench. He was listed as questionable before the contest due to neck soreness.

Prior to Game 2, Kennard was 9-of-34, including 3-of-16 from long distance, in their last five games.

But aside from his shooting slump, he acknowledged that one of the Lakers’ problems has been their insufficient physicality, which has allowed the defending champions to impose their will.

“We need to up our physicality. Obviously, we’ve been putting two guys on Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) a lot, and kind of let some of those (Thunder) guys get open looks,” said Kennard in the video posted by the California Post’s Khobi Price.

“But when Shai’s off the floor, we really have to sit down and guard and try to take some of these guys out. Our physicality needs to go up another level, and we know that. That’s something to talk about and figure out.”

Luke Kennard on what the Lakers need to do in the non-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander minutes, which they've lost by a combined 22 points across 33 minutes in Game 1 and Game 2:

"We need to up our physicality. Obviously, we've been putting the 2 guys on Shai a lot. And kind of let some… pic.twitter.com/csR0IhMv0m

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) May 8, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points on 13 shots. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised him for his ability to counter the Lakers’ double teams.

Chet Holmgren also had 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Ajay Mitchell added 20 points on 7-of-12 accuracy. Jared McCain came off the bench and chipped in 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

The Lakers have now lost six straight games to the Thunder.

Game 3 is at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.

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