JJ Redick 'Not Giving Up' on Lakers Down 3-0 to Thunder, 'We Can Beat Them'

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has faith in his team being able to make NBA history by overcoming a 3-0 series deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Redick told reporters after Saturday's Game 3 loss that he is "not giving up" on the series because "we can beat them," though they have to play better over a full 48 minutes to make it happen.

"I still think we can beat them," said Redick, "but we got to be better."

"We've got to be better, but I'm not giving up on this series, and we're gonna go try to win on Monday. We're gonna try to extend the series, and we're gonna try to take this thing back to OKC."

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Saturday's loss dropped the Lakers to 0-7 against Oklahoma City in 2025-26 between the regular season and playoffs. Six of the seven games have been decided by at least 18 points, including all three in the postseason.

Despite this futility, there have been some encouraging signs for the Lakers in the last two games to build on. They led at halftime of both Games 2 and 3 before things turned in the second half.

The third quarter, in particular, of all three games has been a nightmare for Redick and the Lakers. They have been outscored 92-63 in the third quarter of all three games combined.

"Third straight game, we're right there after 2 1/2 quarters," Redick said about the Lakers' second-half issues. "We tried different lineups, different coverages. Still lost those minutes again."

The Lakers were going to be at a disadvantage coming into this series anyway because Oklahoma City's roster is loaded. The task for LA is made even more difficult by the absence of Luka Dončić due to a hamstring injury.

Dončić would certainly help those second-half issues since he ranked second in the NBA in third quarter points per game during the regular season.

Even though history says the Lakers are highly unlikely to come back to win this series, Redick's messaging to the team will be one of confidence that they can do it.

The first step in that process will come on Monday when the Thunder and Lakers play Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena. A loss would mark their first time being swept in the playoffs since the 2023 Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.