It feels like the Lakers are close to putting together a winning performance in at least one of their games against the Thunder in their second-round playoff series.

But their 18-point losses in Game 1 and Game 2 in Oklahoma City suggest they aren’t as close as it feels.

The Lakers’ Austin Reaves erupted on offense, but LA might need to employ a zone to top the Thunder. Getty Images

The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday, with the Lakers looking to avoid falling into the dreaded 0-3 hole — a series deficit no team in NBA history has overcome.

If the Lakers want to have a shot at winning the best-of-seven series, they need to make a few adjustments for Game 3:

Zone defense

The Lakers spent a significant chunk of the regular season deploying a zone defense .

And yet, they haven’t played zone during the playoffs.

The Thunder faced the second-most zone defense in the league this season, scoring 1.005 points per possession (ranked 20th), compared with the 1.039 points…