The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business on Saturday night by defeating Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in a primetime battle. Anthony Davis and LeBron James led the way in a game the Lakers had control of for much of the way. The Warriors had their biggest lead of six points early in the first quarter, and L.A. led the way from there.
One way the Lakers were able to keep their lead throughout the game was their ability to limit Stephen Curry. The Warriors superstar could have easily taken over the game at any point, but he couldn’t hit shots with any consistency. He finished with 13 points on 4-for-17 from the field and 2-for-9 from beyond the arc and did not score in the second half.
LeBron was asked after the game how the Lakers were able to keep Curry scoreless in the second half and keep him largely in check throughout the game. He said that it was less about the gameplan and more about Curry simply missing, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just hoped that he missed. It’s Steph, man. Put bodies in front of him and hoped that he miss.”
Beyond just Curry, LeBron felt the Lakers did a great job with their defense, mainly with the way they helped one another when there were breakdowns:
“Just flying around, helping each other when things broke down, which is gonna happen because when you play a Steph Curry team, you’re gonna have breakdowns. That’s just how good he is. You have a lot of eyes on him, a lot of bodies in front of him. For a majority of the game when we did break down, we had guys covering for them and that helps.”
The Lakers got defensive contributions across the board on Saturday, especially with Jarred Vanderbilt making his return to the lineup. With Vanderbilt, Dorian Finney-Smith, Max Christie and Davis, the Lakers actually appear to have some defensive versatility and switchability in some lineups.
LeBron got to see that first-hand from L.A. on Saturday, and it was instrumental in keeping Curry in check — beyond just him missing — and in the Lakers getting their fifth win in six games.
LeBron James staying even-keeled after big wins
The Lakers picked up their best win of the season on Thursday night, dominating the Boston Celtics 117-96. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves all had big nights, but it was a true team effort that allowed the Lakers to come away with the victory.
In terms of the main reason for the win, James pointed towards the Lakers simply executing the gameplan laid out for them by Redick and the coaching staff.
Despite the impressive nature of the performance, LeBron isn’t reading too much into this victory and reiterated that he still feels the Lakers aren’t title contenders just yet.
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