The Oklahoma City Thunder overpowered LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 on Tuesday to grab a 1-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference semifinal series.

A balanced offensive performance and steely defensive display from the reigning NBA champion were enough to seal victory over the depleted Lakers, which started brightly, but trailed for the final three quarters.

Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell added 18 points apiece.

"We were a little choppy, a little rusty, but offensively we just stuck with it," Gilgeous-Alexander said, saluting a Thunder defense that restricted the Lakers to their lowest score in a playoff game since 2021.

"We just try to make people play outside their comfort zone, as simple as that," Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Thunder defense. "Whatever guys like to do, we like to take that away from them."

The commanding Thunder victory underscored the size of the task facing the fourth-seeded Lakers if they are to defy the odds and upset the champion in the best-of-seven series.

Oklahoma City completed a 4-0 regular-season sweep over the Lakers, winning each game by an average margin of 29.3 points.

Tuesday's series-opener at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center echoed the Thunder's regular-season dominance, with the champion pulling away down the stretch to score an emphatic win.

James, who had defied his 41 years to lead the Lakers to a surprise 4-2 upset of the Houston Rockets in the first round, led Los Angeles with 27 points in a losing effort.

Rui Hachimura added 18 points with Marcus Smart bagging 12 and Deandre Ayton 10.

Detroit quells late rally

In Tuesday's other playoff game, Cade Cunningham scored 23 points as the Detroit Pistons held off a second-half rally to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series opener.

The top-seeded Pistons looked to be cruising to a comfortable win after dominating in the first half and taking a 17-point lead in the third period.

But, a spirited Cleveland rally saw the Cavaliers close to within four points before Detroit finally pulled clear again in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Duren had three dunks, two rebounds and a block in a 67-second stretch to break open a tied game.

Cunningham was one of six Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Tobias Harris adding 20 points while Duncan Robinson bagged five three-pointers on his way to a 19-point haul at the Pistons' Little Caesars Arena.

Daniss Jenkins added 12 points from the bench with Ausar Thompson and Duren scoring 11 points apiece.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 23 points, including four three-pointers, while James Harden scored 22 points with eight rebounds and seven assists.

"It was a great team win — defending the ball, rebounding the ball," Cunningham told broadcaster NBC.

"We've got a great system in place. You've got somebody that will come in behind you whenever you get tired.

"But it's one win, we've got to come back and do it again."

Detroit had battled into the conference semifinals after coming back from 3-1 down to defeat Orlando 4-3 in the first round.

Cunningham said the Pistons are anxious to avoid a repeat.

"You've got to protect home court. We didn't do that in the last series, so we want to do that this series," Cunningham said.

"They want to come in and steal one, so we've got to do this again the day after tomorrow."