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We've got a huge match tonight between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers; live at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

Two potential MVP candidates going head to head tonight with a lot more on the line than simply boasting rights. Let's jump straight into this one.

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- Location: Paycom Center; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Date: Thursday, April 2nd, 2026
• Tipoff: 9:40 PM EST
  
  - Luka Dončić (LAL): 35.9 MPG|33.8 PPG|7.8 RPG|8.3 APG
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC): 33.5 MPG|31.4 PPG|4.4 RPG|6.5 APG
  
  Gilly in the Mist
  
  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the favorite to win this year's NBA Most Valuable Player Award and it's not without merit. The ruling MVP/Finals MVP is averaging 31.6 points per video game this year to accompany 6.5 helps per contest. He's shooting 55.3% from the field and getting to the line for 9.4 totally free throw efforts per video game.
  
  Shai ranks 3rd in the NBA this year in points created and his team when again has the finest record in the NBA. Oklahoma City as soon as again has among the 2 finest defenses in the NBA and at the center it's been Chet Holmgren.
  
  The Thunder's defensive score drops to 104.7 with him on the court, he ranks fourth in blocks and 2nd in protective field goal percentage; holding challengers to 41.3%. Chet's also been an elite rim protector, ranking 1st in protective basket portion from within six feet and holding challengers to 49.1% at the rim.
  
  Oklahoma City ranks 1st in challenger effective field objective portion, second in points permitted and have actually done a fantastic task of keeping their opponents off the line. The Thunder rank 9th in complimentary throws allowed this year, in spite of ranking 24th in personal fouls.
  
  Tonight's going to be a battle and the Thunder are well equipped for the war.
  
  Showtime, Baby
  
  The Lakers have actually won 13 of their last 15 video games, they rank 3rd in offensive score during that time and more importantly 9th in protective score. Luka Dončić has brought this group this far and during these 15 games he's been on a various planet.
  
  In the month of March, the Lakers won 15 of 17 games. During the exact same month, Luka averaged 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.4 helps per game. He's shooting 49.2% from the field in these video games and 39.2% from 3.
  
  In his last 10 games, Luka is balancing 40.8 points per video game and his shooting percentages remained the very same. The last time Luka was playing at this high of a level, he took the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.
  
  This year is greatly various and the Western Conference is filled. That being said, tonight's matchup is rather of a litmus test. The Thunder and Lakers have fulfilled twice this year, neither time did both teams have a complete beginning lineup. Luka and Shai both missing their newest matchup in February.
  
  This will be the very first of 2 conferences in between these two teams as we complete out the year. Both matches bring a ton of weight in regards to standings and possibly a preview of what's to come in the postseason.
  
  Thursday Night's Best choices
  
  Luka Dončić o30.5 Points (-110)|Lucky Rebel
  
  Like I stated above, Luka's averaging 40.8 points per video game in his last 10 games. He's shooting nearly 50% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. Tonight's matchup is hard but with the Lakers already having actually dropped 2 video games to the Thunder this year, it feels like an area with a bit more inspiration.
  
  Now let's talk about his match with Lu Dort. Nobody in the NBA has actually spent more time safeguarding Luka than Lu Dort. Luka's played the Thunder 23 overall times, consisting of both the routine season and postseason. Dort's played in 16 of these video games and Luka's averaging 27.7 points per video game in these games.
  
  Luka's got a 61% true shooting percentage against Lu Dort in his career so I'm all in on the MVP confident tonight.
  
  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander o30.5 Points (-130)|Lucky Rebel
  
  Tonight's going to be chalky. We've got 2 MVP contenders going head to head tonight and if it's anything like we've seen this last week, it should be fireworks. Luka's has 3 straight video games of 40-points, Victor Wembanyama is coming off back to back 40/15 games and Jaylen Brown just scored 43 last night.
  
  Shai's scored 40 points three times already this month, he just scored 47 versus the Pistons on Monday and tonight he plays a Lakers group that struggles versus opposing guard play.
  
  It's chalky, however it feels like a wedding day for the MVP(s).
  
  Danny Burke 19 hours ago
  
  Varun Sharma Tue Mar 31 2026