Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 4/2/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Prime Video

Paycom Center is where the Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16) will take on the Los Angeles Lakers (50-26) on Thursday.

The Lakers stepped onto the hardwood against the Cavaliers and notched a win by a score of 127-113 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Lakers finished with 19 while the Cavaliers finished the game with 19 personal fouls. They made 13 out of their 39 attempts from 3-point range. Cleveland ended up going 73.7% when shooting free throws by burying 14 of 19 attempts. Furthermore, Cleveland grabbed 50 rebounds (14 offensive, 36 defensive) and added 9 blocks. Cleveland distributed 18 dimes and had 12 steals for the matchup. When it comes to defense, Los Angeles allowed their opponent to shoot 49.4% from the field on 43 of 87 shooting. They also recorded 28 assists for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With regard to hauling in rebounds, they earned 59 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Lakers converted 24 of 26 tries for a percentage of 92.3%. Los Angeles finished the game with a 54.2% FG percentage (45 of 83) and made 13 of their 31 three-point attempts.

Luka Doncic is one player who came through for this game. Doncic ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and recorded 12 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins played and snagged 5 boards. He ended up walking away with 42 points on 13 out of 26 shooting.

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Los Angeles comes into this game with a record of 50-26 this season. They are averaging 116.8 pts per game (10th in the league) while connecting on 50.2% from the field. The Lakers are shooting 35.8% on three-point shots (907 of 2,535) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Los Angeles is grabbing 41.0 boards per game and has racked up 1,939 assists for the year, which is 18th in the league in terms of passing. They are turning it over 14.4 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 18.7 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Lakers are forcing 14.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.3 personal fouls. They are 24th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 2,096 relinquished so far this season. The Lakers defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 48.3% (3,231 of 6,690) and they concede 40.8 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 35.2% on shots from downtown and they are 12th in the league in PPG allowed (114.7).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Thunder took home the win by a final score of 114-110 when they faced the Pistons. When it comes to cleaning the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Detroit to grab 57 overall (16 offensive). They shot 37.2% from beyond the arc by shooting 16 out of 43 and finished the game at 12 of 23 from the free throw line (52.2%). The Thunder permitted the Pistons to convert 41 of 97 tries from the floor which had them shooting 42.3% in the game. When all was said and done, the Thunder ended up going 38 out of 81 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.9%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the arc, Oklahoma City made 10 of their 34 attempts (29.4%). They were able to knock down 28 of those for a rate of 87.5%. The Pistons were called for 14 fouls for the matchup which got the Thunder to the free throw line for 32 tries. They also coughed it up 10 times, while earning 3 steals in this game. The Thunder collected 33 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 for the matchup.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pitched in for the Thunder for this contest. He knocked down 12 of 19 in the matchup giving him a rate of 63.2%, and had 5 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points in his 41 mins on the court and earned 3 assists in this contest.

Oklahoma City has a mark of 60-16 for the season. As an offensive team, the Thunder are connecting on 48.2% from the field, which ranks 6th in the NBA. Oklahoma City has tallied 9,014 points for the season (118.6 per contest) and they grab 44.1 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.3 times per contest (20th in the league) and they turn it over 12.6 times per game. The Thunder are responsible for committing 19.2 personal fouls per game and they go 82.0% from the charity stripe.

The Oklahoma City defense gives up 36.6% on shots from 3-point land (1,091 of 2,978) and their opponents are connecting on 74.5% of their foul shots. They surrender 24.8 dimes and 45.4 boards every game, which is ranked 5th and 21st in the NBA. The Thunder on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the league in points per game surrendered with 107.6. They are forcing their opponents into 16.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.5% from the floor (1st in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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