Two of the hottest teams right now are on a collision course on Friday, with the Los Angeles Lakers looking to level things up between them and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Read on for more about this matchup.

Catch this game live on Friday, April 3, 2026 at 9:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Los Angeles Lakers (50-26, 24-14 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • Luguentz Dort
  • Jalen Williams
  • Chet Holmgren
  • Isaiah Hartenstein

The Lakers are on a roll, thanks in large part to none other than Luka Doncic, who did nothing all March besides rip LA opponents apart. 

Doncic capped off his incredible March with a 42-point explosion in a 127-113 win at home over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. In 16 games last month, the former NBA scoring champion averaged 37.5 points on a 49.2 FG% and 39.2 3 FG%.  The Thunder are a formidable team with arguably the stoutest defense in the league, but considering Doncic’s current form, there seems to be no defense good enough to keep him in check. 

That notion still holds even though he shot just 7-for-20 in the Lakers’ 121-92 loss to the Thunder in OKC back in November. That was also when LeBron James was still missing games, so this will be the first time this season that the four-time MVP will be facing off against the reigning NBA champs.

The Lakers are 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games on the road.

Home: Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16, 32-6 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Luka Doncic
  • Austin Reaves
  • Jake LaRavia
  • LeBron James
  • Deandre Ayton

The Thunder are also on a winning streak, having won all of their last three games. They have also won 15 of their last 16 games, with the only blemish in that stretch coming in a 119-109 loss in Beantown to the Boston Celtics on March 26. In their most recent outing, the Thunder escaped with a 114-110 overtime win over the Cade Cunningham-less Detroit Pistons at home on Tuesday. 

It wasn’t the sexiest win, but a win nonetheless for Oklahoma City, which got 47 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He also had a buffet on the free-throw line, going 21/25 on his freebies.  In the first meeting with the Lakers, he had 30 points on 10/18 shooting, but it was the defense that shone the most for OKC, holding Los Angeles down to only 40 FG% and forcing Doncic and company to commit 20 turnovers.

The Thunder, tops in the league with a 106.7 defensive rating, are 3-2 against the spread in their last five home games versus the Lakers.

Picks

Spread: Oklahoma City Thunder  (-9.0)

Over/Under: Under (228.0)