The Los Angeles Lakers managed to keep Shai Gilgeous-Alexander quiet once again but they still can’t find a way to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander’s quiet series continued with 18 points in Game Three but Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists were enough to carry the Thunder to a 131-108 win and a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final.

Standing in for the injured Jalen Williams, Mitchell was the dominant factor in another lop-sided contest that puts Oklahoma on the brink of qualification.

“I think the biggest thing for me was just going out there and being confident,” Mitchell told ESPN. “I know what I can do. When I go out there, I just want to compete and help this team win and play freely.”

Belgium-born Mitchell struggled in his first play-off start, going 5-of-20 from the floor in the Game Three first-round win over the Phoenix Suns but has bounced back impressively, and Gilgeous-Alexander is a fan of the 23-year-old.

“He’s just finding his footing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s obviously his first run in the play-offs. It’s obviously a different ball game. He’s just getting more and more comfortable as the game goes on, as the series goes on. I said this before, he had a rough [Game 2 in Phoenix], but he was so confident out there. I was never worried that he was going to figure it out, and he’s showing that.”

Williams added: “He’s ready for the moment. Especially me being out, it’s like embrace that moment. The team wants you to shoot those shots. The team wants you to be aggressive. When you’re aggressive, especially him, you end up making the right play more times than not. And he made the right play every single time. He’s a hell of a player.”

LeBron quiet but Lakers coach Redick is confident of a comeback

It was another rough night for the Lakers, for whom LeBron James scored 19 points.

They led 59-57 at half-time but were blown away in the third and fourth quarters. 

“Typically, if you can poke holes at a team in a play-off series, there’s a good chance they might have a temporary solution, or can sort of adjust maybe a little bit,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “This team, in game, because of their personnel, can adjust like that. They need shooting on the floor, great. They need multiple wing defenders on the floor, great. They need two bigs on the floor, great.

“They’re a terrific basketball team. I said that before the series, I’ve been very impressed with them. I still think we can beat them, but we got to be better.”

The series continues in LA for Game Four tomorrow night and Redick is demanding a big effort from his team.

“I’m not giving up on the series. And we’re gonna go try to win on Monday,” Redick said. “We’re gonna try to extend the series and we’re trying to take this thing back to OKC.”