LeBron James came to the defence of counterpart Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, insisting their play-off series "ain't Shai versus the Lakers, it's Lakers versus the Thunder".

The Oklahoma City Thunder took Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 108-90 at PayCom Center.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 18 points in the win, making eight of his 15 field-goal attempts, his lowest-scoring game since Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season's West finals.

The reigning MVP also committed seven turnovers, his most in any game this season; he last had more turnovers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last term (eight).

However, James insisted his Lakers team-mates must focus more on the defeat rather than the positives around keeping Gilgeous-Alexander quiet.

"This ain't Shai versus the Lakers, it's Lakers versus the Thunder," said James, who led all scorers with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting.

"We're down 1-0. That's the main thing. Keep the main thing the main thing, and that's who wins or loses. That's all it's about."

Game 1 energy  pic.twitter.com/y4sHQQKNfn

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 6, 2026

Chet Holmgren stepped up for the Thunder, leading the team with 24 points while contributing with 12 rebounds and three blocks.

The center also defended Gilgeous-Alexander's performance, insisting his Thunder team-mates carry some of the blame.

"I think he made the right decision all night long," Holmgren said on Gilgeous-Alexander.

"I think there were a lot of opportunities where we weren't where we needed to be and he was expecting us to be there.

"We had a couple turnovers in the pocket like that where he threw it right to where we should have been and we weren't there.

"In the stat book, those are his turnovers, but they shouldn't be. We got to improve, be better, be where we need to be."