The Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night to open their Western Conference semifinal series. The victory gives the Thunder a 1-0 lead as they host the Lakers in the second round.
LeBron James scored a game-high 27 points in an attempt to upset Oklahoma City, but the Lakers were unable to overcome the Thunder, who proved too strong in the series opener.
This result continues a trend from the regular season, where Oklahoma City swept all four meetings between the two teams. In those contests, only one game was a single-digit victory.