After a tough game against the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home to play the Golden State Warriors where they routed them, 120-94.
Golden State has been ravaged with injuries to their starters and Los Angeles took full advantage as they were able to basically score at will the entire night. LeBron James was his usual self on offense while Kyle Kuzma continued to get into a rhythm on the offensive end.
The Warriors did their best to go on a couple of runs that made it look like they could make the game more interesting, but the Lakers did a good job of settling down on both ends and closing it out properly.
In his postgame conference, head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged it was nice to get a blowout win and had high praise for his bench.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had one like that and I welcome it. We kept our foot on the gas throughout the game… I credit… it was really a knock ’em down, knock ’em out type of thing. Our starters did a good job knocking them down and our bench guys came in and played terrific,” Vogel said.
“Late in the third quarter where it’s still hanging around — 16 points or so — that game could go either way and we had to come back to our starters and we were afforded the luxury of resting them in the fourth quarter because those guys at the end of the third and the start of the fourth really played well. They defended well, they trusted the pass offensively and they were able to break the game open.”
The Lakers bench has largely struggled to get much going without either James or Anthony Davis on the floor but against the Warriors, they were effective both offensively and defensively. Dwight Howard looked energized grabbing rebounds and putting himself in position for easy dunks while Quinn Cook found little resistance driving to the basket.
With Kuzma starting, Jared Dudley also saw the floor and knocked down two early three-pointers while Alex Caruso provided his usual steady defense and playmaking.
Overall, it was a great night for the bench and an encouraging sign for them going forward.
With another win under their belt, the Lakers are setting themselves up nicely to keep hold of the best spot in the Western Conference. They get another good opportunity to add to their current winning streak when the Sacramento Kings come to visit.
