Thunder vs Lakers Game Analysis: Locked and Loaded
Tuesday, April 7, will be the last match-up between the Thunder and Lakers. This one takes place in Los Angeles. The outcome won’t affect the Thunder, as they are locked in as the top seed. But it will be very important to the Lakers, who are fighting for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference going into the playoffs. Let’s see which team has more opportunities to win at this Thunder vs Lakers prediction at PayPerHead.
Oklahoma City Thunder Recent Scores
The top team in the league has won 17 of their last 18 games and is on a 5-game winning streak. They’ve dominated most of those games, winning by double-digit margins, only struggling against a few teams:
- March 9: winning against the Nuggets, 126-126
- March 12: winning against the Celtics, 104-102
- March 25: losing against the Celtics, 119-109
- March 30: beating the Pistons in overtime, 114-110
See y'all in LA ☀️ pic.twitter.com/Bq3vmmjvLN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 7, 2026
Los Angeles Lakers Recent Scores
Except for their last two games, which were losses (one against the Thunder), the Lakers have had a good run over their previous 14 games, losing only one against the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed Pistons.
In the last dozen or so games, 3 of the top 5 teams in the Western Conference have been playing exceptionally, battling it out for playoff positioning. The Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets are within one point of each other to take the No. 3 seed.
The remaining three games of the season will be relatively smooth for the Lakers, playing against the last-place Jazz and the 10th-seed Warriors. Their toughest opponent will be the 7th-seed Suns. Will they be able to stay ahead of the Rockets and Nuggets, who are on 6 and 8-game winning streaks, respectively?
Thunder vs Lakers History: Sweep the Series
Luka Dončić might have better stats than Gilgeous-Alexander this season, but the Thunder have won each meeting.
- November 12, 2025: Thunder won, 121-92
- February 9, 2026: Thunder won, 119-110
- April 2, 2026: Thunder won, 139-96
That last win for the Thunder, only a few days ago, had the widest points margin of all the games. Confidence will be high for the Thunder but shaky for the Lakers.
The last time the Lakers beat the Thunder was almost exactly 1 year ago, on April 6, 2025, when they won 126-99. It was the last time the Lakers kept the Thunder below 100 points, barely.
Thunder vs Lakers Prediction: Win by How Much?
The Thunder are entering this game with no reported injuries. The Lakers only have 3, but one of them is their top scorer, Luka Dončić. He suffered a grade 2 hamstring strain and will be out for the remainder of the season, with no word yet on whether he’ll return for the playoffs. Dončić scored 600 points in just the month of March.
The other two injuries are with Marcus Smart, who has a right ankle contusion, and Austin Reaves, who has a back problem.
Predictions are heavily slanted towards the Thunder winning this one, especially with Dončić out of the lineup and the Thunder consistently beating them all season. The only question at this point is, how much will the Lakers lose by?
The spread is a staggering -14.5 in favor of the Thunder. The Lakers are at home, but they will be struggling without Dončić and Reaves. Our prediction is Oklahoma City, 130-104, for a Total of 234.
