The Oklahoma City Thunder say they aren't perfect. The champs' 8-0 playoff record is spotless anyway

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder insist they haven't been perfect during their NBA title defense.

Their record at the playoffs' halfway point disagrees.

The Thunder completed their second straight series sweep of the spring Monday night when they held off the resilient Lakers 115-110 in Game 4 of the second round. Oklahoma City went 8-0 against LeBron James and the Lakers this season — and the defending champs are also 8-0 in these playoffs after back-to-back routs of Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Sure, coach Mark Daigneault can see areas for improvement and problems to be solved. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander warns that the job is far from finished.

Yet the Thunder are unquestionably the class of the sport with this playoff streak following their dominant regular season as they seek the NBA's first back-to-back championships since Golden State did it 2017 and 2018.

General manager Sam Presti's merciless machine is looking fairly unbeatable as it heads to the Western Conference finals for the second straight year and the sixth time in the past 16 seasons.

“We’ve done our job so far, that’s all it really means,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve gone out there, we’ve executed, we played at a high level and we’ve been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. That’s all it really means. And nothing is guaranteed. In the playoffs, no two games are the same, especially when you change opponents. So the challenges are all coming up, I guess you can say.”

The next challenge is a date with either the San Antonio Spurs or the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals — after several more days of rest than those teams, which are tied heading to Game 5 on Tuesday night.

But whoever emerges from that rock fight of a series will face the NBA's biggest challenge in the smooth, relentless Thunder, who appear to be operating on an even higher level than they reached last season while winning the title.

“We’ve been very, very good,” Daigneault said. “I thought we had more lapses tonight than we had had in previous games, so we have to learn from that. Obviously we have to play better in more of the 48 minutes, but I also think the wind is going to be in your face in a playoff game for different reasons at different times, and you’ve got to be able to recenter. I thought we did that exceptionally well.”

The Thunder had never swept back-to-back playoff series, and neither did the Seattle SuperSonics before them.

The Lakers got blown out by Oklahoma City three times before managing one close game. The Thunder trailed in a fourth quarter for the first time in these playoffs, and their five-point win was the smallest of the spring.

But the Thunder rallied, as they almost always do.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. Ajay Mitchell, the backup guard who has become a star in Jalen Williams' injury absence, poured in 10 of his career playoff-high 28 in the same period. Chet Holmgren had arguably the biggest baskets of all, including a go-ahead dunk with 32.8 seconds left.

The Thunder celebrated a closeout quarter that seemed to feature a big play from everybody who touched the court. A few minutes later, they were back to business.

“Everything that we’ve done so far is behind us,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We still have a huge target on. We have two more series to win to reach our ultimate goal, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Los Angeles coach JJ Redick and his staff appeared to have a surprising, effective game plan to harass the Thunder’s scorers — and yet it didn’t make much of an impact on the scoreboard at all.

Daigneault found teachable moments during his team's demolition of the Lakers, who sent double-teams at Gilgeous-Alexander and other ball-handlers at a rate they hadn't seen since the Thunder's playoff series with Denver a year ago.

In perhaps the most dismaying aspect of this series for the Thunder's future opponents, they've learned and improved from the Lakers' meager successes.

“It really had us having to sharpen our attacks, but I thought we did a great job of that,” Daigneault said. "Down the stretch, we had some big-time plays (with) high-lows, traps, and we had a dunk for Chet. That was a great attack, and I just thought we showed great execution of that. So I think we’re a lot better in that area than we were coming into the series.”

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso, celebrates after scoring as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James stands behind during the first half of Game 4 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gestures during the second half of Game 4 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Monday, May 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, drives by Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves during the second half of Game 4 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, takes a pass while under pressure from Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura during the first half of Game 4 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain, right, drives toward the basket as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James falls during the second half of Game 4 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group called on the government Tuesday to withdraw from direct talks with Israel, calling them a concession and urging “indirect negotiations.”

Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold two days of talks in Washington starting Thursday in an attempt to end the latest fighting that broke out two months ago, following the Iran war, and discuss the future of relations between the two sides that have been at war since Israel was created in 1948.

Naim Kassem said in a letter directed to the group’s officials that direct negotiations benefit Israel and that they are “concessions by Lebanese authorities.” He said Lebanon’s government should instead resort to indirect negotiations with Israel, as in previous years, such as when a ceasefire was reached in November 2024.

Indirect talks are usually done through a third party.

Kassem also said the dispute over Hezbollah’s possession of weapons was an internal affair and shouldn't be part of the talks with Israel. The Lebanese government has sought the disarmament of the militant group after the latest round of fighting broke out in early March, calling all military activities by the group illegal.

Lebanese authorities have also demanded cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, deployment of Lebanese troops south of the Litani river, the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel and the return of displaced people to their homes.

Kassem said Tuesday his group is ready to cooperate to help achieve the five points demanded by the country's government.

Despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which went into effect on April 17, Israel and Hezbollah have continued carrying out daily attacks.

Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told reporters Tuesday that since the ceasefire went into effect, 380 people have been killed and 1,122 wounded.

He added that since the latest war started on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, the death toll in Lebanon has reached 2,882 dead and 8,786 wounded.

Since the early hours of Tuesday, Israel’s air force carried out strikes in different parts of southern Lebanon as well as the village of Sohmor in the eastern Bekaa Valley, state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said airstrikes on the village of Jibchit killed three and wounded four on Tuesday.

The Israeli military had earlier issued an evacuation warning to the residents of Sohmor and four villages in southern Lebanon.

The National News Agency reported that an Israeli force entered parts of the southern village of Deir Mimas on the Litani River and blew up a water pumping station that uses solar energy and supplies the village with fresh water. The agency said that the blast at the station at around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) caused wide damage.

The Israeli military posted photos of troops along the Litani River, without providing exact location details.

Hezbollah issued a statement saying that its fighters struck Israeli troops Tuesday morning near the Litani River in the village of Deir Seryan with rockets. It gave no further details.

Also Tuesday, Hezbollah confirmed that one of its military commanders was killed in an airstrike near Beirut last week. The group released a photo of Ahmed Ghaleb Balout describing him as a commander who spent much of his life on the battlefield.

Balout was killed May 6 in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut.

It was the first airstrike near Beirut since the ceasefire went into effect.

The Israeli military said Thursday it had killed Balout, who it identified as a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, along with two other militants.

Women grieve as they carry the body of 6-month-old Mariam Fahos during a funeral procession for people killed a day earlier in an Israeli airstrike in the village of Saksakieh, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)