The Lakers clinched a 2-1 series during the Saturday night NBA slate with a 127-97 win over the Golden State Warriors. Anthony Davis’ 25 points and 13 rebounds set the tone. LeBron James added 21 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while D’Angelo Russell scored 21 and dished out five dimes.
In the first quarter, James failed to take a shot for the first time in his NBA-record 275 playoff appearances. He passed up potential scoring chances in an uncharacteristic fashion, which contributed to the Warriors leading 30-23 at the end of the opening period.
“That’s just how the game was going,” James said of his unusual start. “I didn’t want to force it. Just let the game come to me and make my imprint when needed.”
The rest of the game belonged to the Lakers, beginning with scoring 36 points in the second quarter — doubling the Warriors’ total (18) to take a 59-48 halftime lead. Los Angeles continued to pour it on Golden State by producing a 104-67 scoring differential in the final three quarters. How did the Lakers do it? Defense.
“We’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, if not the best,” James said. “For us to reach our potential, we have to defend at a high level. Not one team in this league tests you more in that than Golden State, so we have to be alert for a test on every single possession.”
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Despite Stephen Curry’s 23 points and Andrew Wiggins’ 16, the Warriors got no closer to the Lakers in the second half, committing 19 turnovers and never responding on either end. Golden State shot just 39.6 percent from the floor, 29.5 percent from deep, and 70.6 percent on free throws. It was about as poor of an outing as imaginable.
In the Lakers’ latest strong defensive effort, Davis blocked four shots and led the team in scoring. Los Angeles now has a 16-5 record since March 17 with defense setting the tone. The Warriors often were unable to overcome being on the smaller and less athletic side of matchups.
“After that first quarter, guys just really turned it up,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “They dialed up their competitiveness, and their communication was great. … We were just playing a really physical, forceful downhill game.”
Klay Thompson had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors, but the rest of the roster beyond their top three scorers struggled mightily, combining for just 18 points before coach Steve Kerr pulled his starters with 9:11 to play. Draymond Green had two points in 23 minutes while playing with foul trouble.
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“As ugly as this was tonight, we have an opportunity to respond on Monday, so there’s no point in dwelling on it and hanging our head and getting discouraged,” Thompson said. “We know how to respond. We’ve done it in our existence for 10 years here.”
In 92 games this season, the Warriors have only been held under 100 points five times. Besides the 22 fouls Golden State received, the Lakers received two technical fouls for arguing with officials — showing clear frustration with their performance.
“You can’t get distracted by stuff you can’t control,” Curry said. “As much as it’s frustrating, it’s the test that every team has to go through throughout the series, blocking out that stuff as much as we can. We obviously know who we are and what we’re capable of, all the things we always say after a loss.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers & Golden State Warriors Updates
Russell is an under-the-radar contributor to the Lakers’ success, producing a strong scoring display. The team is 6-0 in the playoffs when he scores at least 15 points. He was efficient in his 21 points, shooting 8-13 overall with five makes from deep.
Aside from Game 1, there hasn’t been an exciting ending to a game in this series since. The Lakers sat key players in the fourth quarter of Game 2, which was followed by the Warriors doing the same in the following game.
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