Sports
Thunder bury Lakers in second half to take 3-0 series lead
May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and center Chet Holmgren (7) fight for a rebound with Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) during the first quarter of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Ajay Mitchell scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the final 24 minutes en route to a convincing 131-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their Western Conference second-round series on Saturday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and nine assists as the defending champion Thunder took a commanding 3-0 series lead and improved to 7-0 this postseason. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds, Cason Wallace added 16 points off the bench and Mitchell also had 10 assists.
The Thunder trailed by two points at halftime before steamrolling Los Angeles 74-49 in the second half.
Rui Hachimura made five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 21 points, and LeBron James added 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Lakers. Luke Kennard had 18 points off the bench and Austin Reaves had 17 points and nine assists for Los Angeles.
The Thunder can complete the sweep in Monday’s game at Los Angeles. No team in NBA history has come back to win a playoff series from a 3-0 deficit.
The Lakers once again missed NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic. Oklahoma is playing without its second-best player in Jalen Williams. Both players are sidelined with hamstring injuries.
Oklahoma City shot 56.4% from the field, including 17-of-38 from 3-point range. Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and nine rebounds, Isaiah Joe scored 12 points on four 3-pointers and Luguentz Dort had 10 points. Wallace also made four 3-pointers for the Thunder.
The Lakers made 46.9% of their attempts and were 14-of-30 from beyond the arc. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton added 10 points apiece for Los Angeles, which committed 17 turnovers leading to 30 Oklahoma City points.
The score was tied at 63 early in the third quarter before Hartenstein and Holmgrem slammed home consecutive dunks to start a 15-2 spurt.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren finished the burst with baskets, helping Oklahoma City end the stretch with 11 straight points to take a 78-65 lead with 5:37 left in the quarter.
The Lakers later scored seven straight points – six by Smart – to move within 84-79 with one minute left in the period. However, Joe drilled two 3-pointers in the final 45.2 seconds as the Thunder took a 90-79 advantage into the final stanza.
The margin was 11 before Mitchell scored nine points during a 14-7 run that lifted the Thunder’s lead to 112-94 with 6:12 remaining. Alex Caruso completed that surge with a thunderous dunk.
Wallace drained a 3-pointer to push Oklahoma City’s lead to 120-97 with 4:01 left, and Oklahoma City led by as many as 27 while finishing off a severe second-half beatdown.
Hachimura was 4-for-4 from 3-point range during a 16-point first half that helped the Lakers lead 59-57 at the break. Gilgeous-Alexander had 14 in the half despite 4-of-14 shooting.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gabriel Pec's econd-half brace vaults Galaxy past Atlanta
May 9, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; LA Galaxy defender Harbor Miller (26) and Atlanta United defender Tomas Jacob (55) fight for the ball during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Gabriel Pec scored two second-half goals for the LA Galaxy, who defeated host Atlanta United 2-1 on Saturday evening.
Pec’s brace, which gave him three goals in MLS play this season, led the Galaxy (4-4-4, 16 points) to their second road win in league action and a third straight unbeaten result (2-0-1).
Atlanta (3-8-1, 10 points) saw its three-match win streak across all competitions come to an end in its final home match before the World Cup break.
Pec scored the eventual match-winner in the 79th minute. As he ventured into the box, his initial shot was blocked. The LA winger then pounced on the loose ball and fired it home to make it 2-1.
That came five minutes after Pec equalized it in the 74th minute. A failed tackle by Elias Baez gave Pec a one-on-one chance against Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos, which he converted to level the match at 1-all. Marco Reus and Joseph Paintsil assisted on the goal.
Pec’s tying goal canceled out Jay Fortune’s brilliant opener in the 69th minute. Fortune collected the ball near the left touchline, dribbled to the top of the box and laced it past a lunging JT Marcinkowski. It was Fortune’s first goal of the season, assisted by Elias Baez and Saba Lobjanidze.
An eventful, yet scoreless, first half featured three yellow cards for Atlanta United within four minutes, along with yellow cards issued to both the Atlanta and LA benches.
In the 41st minute, Atlanta appeared to take a 1-0 lead on a corner-kick routine, but Juan Berrocal’s potential first MLS goal was disallowed after Matias Galarza was ruled to have committed a foul on Marcinkowski in the process.
Pec’s double gave the Galaxy a third straight win over Atlanta United, tying the all-time series at 3-3-0.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Charlotte rallies for draw in Queen City clash vs. Cincinnati
May 9, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; FC Cincinnati forward Kévin Denkey (9) and Charlotte FC defender Morrison Agyemang (44) fight for the ball in the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images In a battle between the two Queen Cities Saturday night in Charlotte, FC Cincinnati squandered a two-goal lead in the second half and settled for a 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC.
FC Cincinnati (4-4-4, 16 points) drew first blood in the 36th minute, Evander took a free kick, with the ball saved by a diving Kristijan Kahlina. But Kahlina deflected the ball right to Kevin Denkey, who unleashed a leaping kick with his right foot to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead with his seventh goal of the season.
Evander didn’t have to wait long to find the net himself. With Cincinnati on the attack as the first half wound down in the 43rd minute, Evander unleashed a lofted shot from the edge of the box which found the top-left corner to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 2-0. The goal was Evander’s fourth in Cincinnati’s last two matches.
But less than 10 minutes into the second half, Charlotte (4-5-3, 15 points) roared back to tie the match with two goals in a three-minute span. After Idan Toklomati got Charlotte on the board in the 51st minute on a header off a headed assist from Tim Ream, Pep Biel equalized on his team-high sixth goal in the 53rd. He buried a centering pass from Djibril Danil into the top of the net past Roman Celentano.
Cincinnati narrowly outperformed Charlotte on the stat sheet in shots (13-11), shots on goal (5-3) and possession (53.8%-46.2%).
Both teams had chances throughout the second half to break the draw but could not find the net. It was a physical battle Saturday night, with Cincinnati given four yellow cards and Charlotte assessed one. The two teams also combined for 23 fouls.
Kahlina also made three saves in goal for Charlotte FC, while Celentano made one for Cincinnati.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gabriel Pec's second-half brace vaults Galaxy past Atlanta
May 9, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; LA Galaxy defender Harbor Miller (26) and Atlanta United defender Tomas Jacob (55) fight for the ball during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Gabriel Pec scored two second-half goals for the LA Galaxy, who defeated host Atlanta United 2-1 on Saturday evening.
Pec’s brace, which gave him three goals in MLS play this season, led the Galaxy (4-4-4, 16 points) to their second road win in league action and a third straight unbeaten result (2-0-1).
Atlanta (3-8-1, 10 points) saw its three-match win streak across all competitions come to an end in its final home match before the World Cup break.
Pec scored the eventual match-winner in the 79th minute. As he ventured into the box, his initial shot was blocked. The LA winger then pounced on the loose ball and fired it home to make it 2-1.
That came five minutes after Pec equalized it in the 74th minute. A failed tackle by Elias Baez gave Pec a one-on-one chance against Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos, which he converted to level the match at 1-all. Marco Reus and Joseph Paintsil assisted on the goal.
Pec’s tying goal canceled out Jay Fortune’s brilliant opener in the 69th minute. Fortune collected the ball near the left touchline, dribbled to the top of the box and laced it past a lunging JT Marcinkowski. It was Fortune’s first goal of the season, assisted by Elias Baez and Saba Lobjanidze.
An eventful, yet scoreless, first half featured three yellow cards for Atlanta United within four minutes, along with yellow cards issued to both the Atlanta and LA benches.
In the 41st minute, Atlanta appeared to take a 1-0 lead on a corner-kick routine, but Juan Berrocal’s potential first MLS goal was disallowed after Matias Galarza was ruled to have committed a foul on Marcinkowski in the process.
Pec’s double gave the Galaxy a third straight win over Atlanta United, tying the all-time series at 3-3-0.
–Field Level Media
Gabriel Pec's econd-half brace vaults Galaxy past Atlanta
Charlotte rallies for draw in Queen City clash vs. Cincinnati
