Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t put up his usual eye-popping numbers in Game 1 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

But heading into Thursday’s Game 2 of the series in Oklahoma City, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player says he won’t mind if the Lakers keep throwing constant double teams his way like they did for much of Tuesday’s game that wound up a 108-90 victory for the Thunder.

“Ultimately it’s the easiest form of basketball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’d much rather do that than have to go one-on-one all night over somebody. My teammates on the back end playing four-on-three, it’s what you play for.”

Gilgeous-Alexander finished Game 1 with 18 points and seven turnovers.

It marked the first time Gilgeous-Alexander had been held to fewer than 20 points since Game 3 of last season’s Western Conference finals — a stretch of 81 appearances — so the Lakers’ tactics paid off in that regard.

But when you consider the Thunder still won by 18, how much did it really help?

“We have a lot of guys who can make smart reads,” said Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein. “We feel really comfortable when they’re trapping and just making the right reads out of that. … Multiple guys that if we catch it in the pocket, it’s an easy read for us. So it’s just making sure that we give Shai outlets.”

The Thunder also had plenty of success on the offensive glass, turning 12 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.

“When they play like that, it’s one of the advantages that you have,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They’re throwing two at Shai really early in possessions and, in order to do that, you get two guys on the ball and then you’ve got three guys off of bodies and rotating and that presents rebounding opportunities.

“We need to be aggressive if the ball comes out of traps, in shooting or attacking, and then when we do shoot, we’ve got to chase the ball in those situations because there’s rebounds to be had.”

The Lakers remain without star Luka Doncic, who said Wednesday he continues to improve but declined to put a timeline on his return. Doncic, who suffered a hamstring injury April 2 against Oklahoma City, said the initial timeline for his return was eight weeks. That’s roughly when the Western Conference finals will end.

LeBron James said his team must be better offensively after scoring just 90 points — the fewest for Los Angeles in a playoff game since the 2021 first round.

“When you play against great defense, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times,” James said. “I felt like we had great shots. … We missed them. When you’re playing against the world champions, having a guy that averages 34 (points), six (rebounds) and eight or nine (assists), that’s special.

“So we have to be better at finding ways to get to the blender, finding ways to get to the paint. We know they’re a paint-swarming team, so we have to be better about getting to the paint, not turning the ball over and shooting with confidence.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick said forward Jarred Vanderbilt is “day to day” after dislocating his right pinkie finger in the first half of Tuesday’s game. The club listed him as doubtful for Game 2.

Vanderbilt has averaged 3.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 12 minutes during the postseason.

–Field Level Media

Now that the LIV Golf League will no longer be financed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Graeme McDowell told Sports Illustrated that he is hopeful the league can shed some controversy and serve as a “viable golfing product.”

McDowell, 46, received death threats and other backlash when he joined LIV in 2022.

“I don’t think we could have ever imagined how deep this would go. The hatred,” he said. “It’s funny, but if we can shift the narrative away from Saudi Arabia and bring some U.S. money and get rid of that narrative … because that narrative is just nasty.”

When he signed with LIV, McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, called it “a compelling opportunity” and that it was the best decision for his family. He wishes he could take back those remarks.

“I was ready to jump ship and go get a real job,” McDowell told Sports Illustrated. “And then these guys came along and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this tour. Do you want to come play?’ I love playing. I love competing. I regret a few things I said at the beginning, stuff like growing the game. I should have just said it for what it was: this is good for my bank account, and I’m getting a runway to play the game of golf for as long as I possibly can. “

PIF officially announced in April that it was done backing LIV after this season, leaving the future of the league in doubt. However, CEO Scott O’Neil told the media on Tuesday that he has confidence in LIV. O’Neil offered no specific plans.

“I think we all knew that we were going to have to stand on our own two feet at some point to be able to make this into a legitimate business,” McDowell said. “When you’ve kind of got the type of cash that we had in the beginning for a startup company, it was a little crazy and maybe not very real. It’s kind of like we’re turning 18 now. I’m going to go into the real world. We got to fend for ourselves a little bit. We try to make this into legit business.”

LIV Golf has seven tournaments remaining this year, beginning with this weekend’s event at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C.

–Field Level Media

As World Cup ticket prices continue to be debated, FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared they are in line with most American sporting events.

FIFA has come under fire for the cost of tickets to the quadrennial tournament that starts June 11 in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but Infantino said market rates have to be applied.

“In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price,” Infantino said Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. “And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price.”

A quick look Wednesday on the Ticketmaster website for the June 19 group-stage match between the United States and Australia in Seattle certainly didn’t display any bargains.

The lowest price for two tickets early Wednesday evening was a resale pair for $2,725.10, which broke down to $2,290 for the tickets and $435.10 in service fees. However, a new search 30 minutes later showed the total price climbing to $2,770.90 for seats high in the upper deck along the sideline at Lumen Field. For fans more familiar with football than futbol, they could be considered on the 25-yard line.

On its own market place, FIFA takes a 15% purchase fee from the buyer of a resold ticket and a 15% free from the seller.

However, Infantino said World Cup prices are not out of line.

“We have 25% of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300,” Infantino said. “You cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300. And this is the World Cup.”

Last month, FIFA had four tickets for the World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J. listed for just under $2.3 million apiece. They were in the lower deck behind the goal.

“If some people put on the resale market some tickets for the final at $2 million, No. 1, it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2 million, and No. 2, it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets,” Infantino said.

“And if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience.”

–Field Level Media