The Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in their fourth and final meeting in a game that had huge standings implications.
This marked the first matchup between the two teams since their respective trades for Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler. The Lakers came in two games ahead of the surging Warriors in the standings as they look to clinch the best seed possible. Unfortunately, they were not able to earn the season sweep as the Golden state came away with a 123-116 victory to pull within a game of L.A. in the standings.
Austin Reaves got the Lakers off to a quick start with back-to-back triples, one from each corner, and then Doncic drove for a layup. Brandin Podziemski helped settle the Warriors in, however, making three 3-pointers of his own to tie it at 12.
The pace of the game was exceptional early as both teams were getting up and down and making tough shots. With Stephen Curry guarding him, Rui Hachimura went into attack mode for seven quick points.
LeBron James took a hard elbow to the stomach by Jonathan Kuminga and was forced to head to the bench, although he wound up being OK. The offense slowed down for both teams to end the first quarter though, particularly for the Lakers, and they trailing 26-22 going into the second.
Reaves got fouled on a 3-pointer to end a long scoring drought for the Lakers. James then hit a triple to give them their first field goal in nearly seven minutes. Butler started going to work from there though, stretching Golden State’s lead to double digits for the first time.
Podziemski and Curry also got in on the action while the Lakers continued to struggle offensively, resulting in a 60-47 halftime deficit. L.A. had cut it to 10 but Podziemski banked one in from almost halfcourt to beat the buzzer.
James went into attack mode to begin the second half and the Lakers were able to get their deficit down to eight before Curry hit another 3.
Curry going going again and the Lakers weren’t helping by giving up a bunch of offensive rebounds. Doncic started to contribute offensively by getting to the free throw line, but the Lakers weren’t able to make much progress in the third quarter and went into the fourth trailing 88-77.
Reaves connected from deep to start the fourth, but every time L.A. would try to cut into the deficit, the Warriors would immediately answer. That included Draymond Green hitting a tough triple, which was the surest sign it wasn’t the Lakers’ night.
The Lakers tried to make one last push after 3s by James and Reaves to cut it to seven. Curry closed it out for his team though, hitting big shots down the stretch.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will be back on the court Friday as they host an easier opponent in the tanking New Orleans Pelicans, albeit on the second night of a back-to-back.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
