The Los Angeles Lakers played their third of six preseason games on Friday night, falling to the Golden State Warriors, 121-114, at the Chase Center.
Despite the Lakers dropping to 0-3, there were still some positives to take away from this one with Dwight Howard and Talen Horton-Tucker playing really well off the bench.
The Lakers fell down by more than 20 points in the third quarter but worked that deficit all the way down to one late in the game thanks in part to the play of Howard and Horton-Tucker.
Howard played 24 minutes off the bench and was everywhere, scoring 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. He even earned a technical foul while on the bench to cap off his brilliant night.
Horton-Tucker also had his best game of the preseason, getting to the rim and free-throw line at will. He finished with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 20 minutes.
Friday night also marked the Lakers preseason debuts of both Russell Westbrook and LeBron James, although both only played the first half and didn’t fare particularly well.
Westbrook had just two points in his Lakers debut to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. He also had six of the Lakers’ egregious 27 turnovers.
James didn’t shoot well, finishing with nine points on 4-of-12 from the field with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Stephen Curry, to no surprise, led all scorers with 30 points, while Jordan Poole was not far behind with 28 points for the Warriors. Golden State attempts an incredible 56 3-points, knocking down 20 of them, which was how they built that big lead in the third quarter.
DeAndre Jordan and Kendrick Nunn also played well for the Lakers as the former had 10 points and nine rebounds while the latter posted 13 points, four rebounds and an assist off the bench.
Up next for Lakers
The Lakers now return home to host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night. They then host the Warriors on Tuesday and travel to face the Sacramento Kings on Thursday to finish out the preseason.
Frank Vogel revealed postgame that he is not yet sure who will play on Sunday, although it could be the first time this preseason that the Lakers’ big three of James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis all suit up together.
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