The Oklahoma City Thunder proved too strong for the Los Angeles Lakers to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA’s Conference semi-finals.

The defending champions are the Western Conference’s top seed and made a strong start to the best-of-seven series with a 108-90 win at home on Tuesday.

The Thunder produced a balanced offensive performance while their defence restricted the Lakers to their lowest score in a play-off game since 2021.

LeBron James claimed a game-high 27 points for the Lakers while Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

The NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell added 18 points apiece for the hosts.

“You’re playing the world champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not that high,” said Lakers head coach JJ Redick.

“[There were] just too many tonight. We’ve got to clean that up.”

LA guard Luka Doncic remained out with a hamstring injury and could also miss game two on Thursday.

The Detroit Pistons drew first blood in their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, holding off a late rally to claim a 111-101 home win.

Cade Cunningham scored 23 points for the Eastern Conference’s top seed Detroit, with Tobias Harris adding 20.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 23 points while James Harden added 22 but had seven turnovers.