The NBA is getting its dream postseason matchup in the second round with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers squaring off against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Game 1 took place on Tuesday night at the Chase Center, and the Lakers were able to go on the road and steal one with a 117-112 win.
The Warriors got off to a quick 5-0 start before James knocked down a jumper to settle the Lakers in. Klay Thompson got hot early with a pair of triples though while the Lakers were ice cold, taking a timeout after falling behind 10-2.
Anthony Davis established himself inside out of the timeout, scoring a quick eight points to get his team back within four. Rui Hachimura also came in and made an immediate impact in his first shift, scoring in a variety of ways against the smaller Warriors.
After the Lakers tied it at 23, Curry scored eight straight points for the Warriors although the Lakers weathered the storm and went into the second with a slim 31-29 deficit.
Dennis Schroder scored four straight points to begin the second quarter to give the Lakers their first lead, including picking Curry’s pocket for a steal.
Davis continued his dominance when he returned, although the Warriors matched him with Thompson, Jordan Poole and Jamychal Green getting hot from deep.
After the Lakers built up their biggest lead at five late in the second, Poole got the crowd going with a four-point play. James beat the buzzer with a midrange jumper though to give the Lakers a 65-64 halftime lead.
It was the two guys who got traded for each other, Russell and Andrew Wiggins, carrying the scoring load for their respective teams to begin the third quarter.
Austin Reaves then got hot with back-to-back 3s, and James even got in on the action from deep to give L.A. its first double-digit lead.
Thompson and Poole continued draining 3s to keep it within striking distance despite the Lakers dominating inside, although L.A. still managed to take a 96-88 lead into the fourth.
The Warriors began the fourth with four straight points before Reaves answered with an alley-oop to James. LeBron started to take over from there, using his force to get inside for easy buckets.
After the Lakers built their biggest lead at 14, Curry, Thompson and the Warriors tried to make one last run with a three-point play and a triple, respectively. Curry then made a layup to cut it back to six as the game was nowhere near over with four minutes to play.
With the Lakers going into a drought offensively, Poole and Curry each drilled 3s to tie it at 112 with a minute to play before Russell responded with a huge bucket.
After a James free throw put the Lakers up by three, the Warriors missed on back-to-back possessions, with Poole unable to convert on a wide-open 3 to tie it. The Lakers then made a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Davis was the star of the night, recording 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
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