The Los Angeles Lakers hit a rough patch coming out of the All-Star break, dropping three games in a row, including two in the final seconds. If they want to avoid falling into the Play-In Tournament, the Lakers need to get back on track soon, and they had a prime opportunity on Saturday night when they traveled to take on the Golden State Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis.
The Lakers haven’t blown out a lot of teams this year, but they came out with a purpose in this one and dominated the Warriors from start to finish to earn a 129-101 victory. The win snapped the three-game losing streak and improved L.A.’s record to 35-24.
Luka Doncic was celebrating his 27th birthday on Saturday and did so in style. It was a quiet first half for the Slovenian superstar, but he made four 3-pointers to begin the third quarter and had 16 points in that quarter alone. That was instrumental in the Lakers pulling away for the easy victory as Doncic finished with 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists in just 29 minutes of action.
Similar to Doncic’s third quarter, LeBron James came out on fire to begin the game, making his first four 3-pointers. James has always loved playing against the Warriors and that was again the case in this one, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
Considering it was the first night of a back-to-back for the Lakers, it was good to see them pull away early and never look back so their starters didn’t have to play extended minutes in the first of a back-to-back.
The Lakers’ offense has been up and down for most of the season, but they were firing on all cylinders on Saturday, especially from deep as they shot over 50% on 3s before garbage time.
Austin Reaves had an efficient night for L.A. with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Luke Kennard (16 points) and Jake LaRavia (15 points) were both in double figures off the bench. Kennard, in particular, has been shooting the ball really well since being acquired at the trade deadline.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will have a nice chance to stack up a few wins from here as they now return home and host the Sacramento Kings in the second night of a back-to-back on Sunday before welcoming the New Orleans Pelicans to town on Tuesday.
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