Stiles Points: Thunder, Lakers Class of Western Conference

It was a two-game baseball-style series that seemed like a playoff series. The crowd was ruckus, the stars shined and the games were emotionally charged.

The Los Angeles Lakers blew out the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday thanks to a white-hot shooting night from beyond the arc as Luka Doncic pulled rabbits out of his hat like the magician that he is setting up his teammates and getting his own buckets, Austin Reaves couldn't miss and LeBron James was a steady leader on the floor that used his size to overpower OKC at times. That, coupled with Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith each going 4-for-8 from 3-point land, led to a lopsided win that was accompanied by plenty of overreactions.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma City bounced back with a 136-120 win over Los Angeles; Snapping a two-game losing streak and winning the season-series over the Purple and Gold.

Fitting, the two sides split the baseball-style series. It seems as if the season is destined to end with the two colliding in the Western Conference Finals at the end of May in a series that will almost assuredly go the distance.

Like any good playoff series, this two-game mini-series was filled with drama. Specifically, in Tuesday night's affair, as Doncic got tossed for yelling at a courtside fan, leading to his second technical foul in a 108-107 game in the final frame.

That led to a lackluster finish and spoiled what would've been an exhilarating finish in a contest that up to that point, both sides were playing great basketball. In an affair that simply put: Someone had to lose.

Despite the messy ending, the two games revealed that these two squads are the class of the Western Conference.

Sure, the Lakers are, technically. the No. 3 seed, four wins back of the Houston Rockets, but that doesn't take away from the fact the Purple and Gold are the biggest threat to the No. 1 seed and should be the second biggest favorite to make it out of the West.

The Rockets have had a fun season, one littered with improvement and development and are heading down a great path. However, its lack of a true number one scoring option and questions surrounding Sengun's defense in a playoff environment knocks them down a peg when discussing if they can reach the ultimate goal in just year one of their postseason journey.

That leaves Oklahoma City, who has been the best team in basketball this season, lapped the field with a tough Western Conference, owns a historic defense and the soon-to-be NBA MVP. And the Lakers.

Los Angeles has two all-time great players on its roster, plus the emerging Austin Reaves, role players who have thrived in big games before, and a rookie head coach who has navigated the 2024-25 campaign like a veteran.

The Thunder-Lakers series would include great chess matches and game-to-game adjustments, incredible environments, storylines, stars and close games. A series that would be taken down to the wire and include the two best words in sports: Game 7.

Barring upsets, it is hard to point to a Western Conference team that can match what both the Thunder and Lakers have on paper.

This mini-series was just an appetizer for May's entree.

Song of the Day: Streets of Bakersfield by Buck Owens