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Ajay Mitchell #25 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on during the second half at TD Garden on March 25, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics defeat the Thunder 119-109.

The LA Lakers watched as Ajay Mitchell struggled to find his offense during Game 1 of the OKC Thunder’s Game 1 loss against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. 

Mitchell was the biggest thorn in the Lakers’ side during their Round 2 sweeping loss to the Thunder, yet his offense seemed to have vanished when he faced the Spurs, a significantly better defensive team in the West Finals. 

Mitchell only scored four points while shooting 2-of-5 from the field on 34 minutes of action. He averaged 22.5 points per game against the Lakers, becoming the Thunder’s secondary scorer behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

Lakers fans lamented this on X after the Thunder’s loss to the Spurs, expressing frustrations about Mitchell’s performance when they faced off in the second round. 

@munumagic: Lakers turned Ajay Mitchell into prime Michael Jordan for one series and a MyCareer bench player tonight 😭

@Baddochenjn73: Scouts gonna think the Lakers are a G-League team at this point

@Coolass_marr: They always ball out against da lakers until they play another team da next night or an few games later dis is wat happens 🤣🤔

Some fans pointed out how the Spurs zeroed in on holding Mitchell’s production at a minimum after seeing him explode against the Lakers. 

@Zarek_Mark: Look at how the spurs are defending him compared to every shot he took against the lakers was wide open

@SJ___04: Lakers had a cone defense against him what do you expect??

@AZSportsShow: the lakers have a bunch of parking cones on defense+ Jaxson Hayes and Ayton as bigs what do u expect? their defense is why they’re out of the playoffs lol Lakers won’t be a contender until they retool the roster to be way more athletic around Luka like he had in Dallas

Mitchell played heavy clutch-time minutes for the Thunder in the double overtime game, but spent most of his minutes as a perimeter defender for the Spurs’ guards. 

Ajay Mitchell Hunted Lakers’ Defensive Weak Links in Round 2

GettyAjay Mitchell #25 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter in Game Three of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on May 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Ajay Mitchell feasted on the Lakers’ defensive weak links in the Thunder’s sweep of the Lakers in Round 2. 

Mitchell attacked the likes of Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton throughout the series, allowing him to bump his production. It also helped that he had more touches in the series as Jalen Williams recovered from a hamstring injury during the round. 

Unlike in the Lakers series, Mitchell will now have to navigate against the Spurs’ formidable defensive unit led by capable perimeter defenders such as Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell, all of whom have given the Thunder problems in Game 1. 

Thunder Faces First Loss in the Playoffs

GettyOklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander faces first loss in the playoffs.

The Spurs’ double overtime victory handed the Thunder their first loss of the playoffs after back-to-back sweeps in the first two rounds. 

In Round 1, they dominated the Phoenix Suns in four games, before they pummeled the LA Lakers in the second round, whose squad played without Luka Doncic, their leading scorer in the regular season. 

The Spurs now hold a 1-5 edge over the Thunder across their six meetings this season, including the regular season. 

Game 2 will be on Wednesday in OKC.