Shai scores 42, Doncic ejected as Thunder rattles the Lakers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 136-120 on Tuesday, in a hard-fought battle that saw Luka Doncic controversially ejected in the fourth quarter.

Two days after suffering a 27-point defeat to the Lakers, the top-ranked Thunder avenged that loss thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander's 13th 40-point game of the season, with Jalen Williams adding 26 and Luguentz Dort 17.

The contest pivoted on the fourth quarter incident that led to the Lakers' Slovenian star Doncic picking up a second technical foul and being tossed from the game.

Doncic was ejected following a one-handed jump shot that put the Lakers 108-107 up with 7 min 40 sec remaining, after officiating crew member J.T. Orr judged he had been verbally abused by the player following the bucket.

Doncic protested, arguing he had merely been responding to a fan at courtside who had heckled him, but the decision stood, and clearly rattled the Lakers, allowing the Thunder to seize the initiative and pull away for victory.

"It was a great game that, unfortunately, didn't get the finish that I think every basketball fan would want, because of some decision making on the part of some individual," Lakers coach J.J. Redick said.

LeBron James, who finished with 28 points, was at a loss to explain Doncic's ejection.

"I don't know why the ref was taking it personal," James told reporters. "The ref took it upon himself to think it was versus him. The game was just weird as hell after that."

Doncic insisted he had not been trash-talking Orr. "It was nothing to do with the ref, so I didn't really understand it," Doncic said. "It was tough, but, you know, that's on me too. I can't let my team down like that."

The Lakers remain in third place with a 48-31 record and need to win two of their remaining three regular-season fixtures to lock in third seed in the Western Conference.

Cavs clinch No 1 seed

The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the No 1 seed in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs after cruising past the Chicago Bulls 135-113.

Darius Garland led the scoring with 28 points in a balanced offensive performance from the Cavs, who improved to 63-16 to ensure they will finish the regular season on top of the East.

The victory means Cleveland will have home advantage when the playoffs get under way next week following the completion of the regular season on Sunday.

Garland was one of five Cleveland players to post double figures, with Evan Mobley adding 21 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Ty Jerome chipping in with 18 off the bench.

"You celebrate these moments," Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. "It's hard to win 63 games in this league, and it's hard to be the first seed. We're hungry for more."

AFP