The Lakers came into this game after snapping a 4 game losing streak. The Warriors were riding a 3 game win streak and hoped to make it a 4 game win streak in this game. These 2 teams played earlier in the season and the Warriors had a 19 point comeback win. Anthony Davis played in the game earlier this season but didn’t play in this one so the Warriors had a huge advantage. LeBron James and the Warriors definitely have a bit of history with their 4 straight NBA Finals matchups. Kelly Oubre Jr. played amazingly in February and hoped to have another nice game. For the Lakers to win they needed to score more because they would be missing Anthony Davis, defend Stephen Curry, and rebound well. For the Warriors to win they needed to defend LeBron James well, take advantage of the fact that Anthony Davis would be out, and Stephen Curry would likely need to have a nice game. Would the Warriors get another nice win over the Lakers or would LeBron help the Lakers get revenge by leading them to the win? To the game!
Marc Gasol won the tip for the Lakers which led to Andrew Wiggins making 1 of 2 free throws after a Warriors defensive stop. At 11:20 Marc Gasol made a free throw to complete a 3 point play that gave the Lakers a 2 point lead. At 9:46 Dennis Schröder made a layup to give the Lakers a 6 point lead. At 8:43 Marc Gasol made a 3 to give the Lakers a 12 point lead. At 7:24 LeBron made a couple of free throws to give the Lakers a 15 point lead. Then at the 6 minute mark Stephen Curry got a 4 point play to make it an 11 point game. After a defensive stop from the Warriors Kelly Oubre Jr. got a 3 point play to cut the Laker lead to 8 points. From that point until about the 1 minute mark the Lakers’ lead hovered around 10 points. With 55.8 seconds left in the quarter Montrezl Harrell made a dunk to give the Lakers a 15 point lead. To end the quarter Kyle Kuzma made a couple of free throws to give the Lakers a 20 point lead. At the end of the first quarter the Lakers were leading 41-21. The Lakers played very well in the first quarter and were led by LeBron James with 10 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals, and a block. The Warriors didn’t play very well and were led by Stephen Curry with 6 points, 0 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. The Warriors ended with 1 fewer assist, 7 fewer rebounds, 2 fewer steals, 2 more blocks, 1 more turnover, and 6 more fouls than the Lakers in the first quarter. The Warriors shot terribly in the first quarter with 36.4% from the field and 18.2% from 3. The Lakers on the other hand shot very well with 55% from the field and 66.7% from deep. The Warriors played horribly in the first quarter and hoped to make it a 10 point game by halftime. The Lakers played amazingly in the first quarter and hoped to stay on that trend in the 2nd quarter.
To start the 2nd quarter Montrezl Harrell made a layup to give the Lakers a 22 point lead. The next play Juan Toscano-Anderson made a layup to give the Warriors their first points of the quarter. At 5:27 Alex Caruso made a 3 to give the Lakers a 25 point lead. To end the quarter LeBron made a buzzer beater 3 to give the Lakers a 29 point lead. At halftime the Lakers were leading 73-44. The Lakers played amazingly in the first half led by LeBron with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Markieff Morris also player well with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Warriors were led by Stephen Curry with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Kelly Oubre Jr also played well for the Warriors with 7 points and 4 rebounds. In the first half the Warriors had 2 fewer assists, 13 fewer rebounds, 4 fewer steals, 2 more blocks, 3 more turnovers, and 7 more fouls than the Lakers. The Warriors shot terribly in the first half with 39.5% from the field and 23.5% from 3. The Lakers shot very well in the first half with 51.2% from the field and 45% from downtown. The Lakers played amazingly in the first half and hoped to carry their momentum into the 3rd quarter. The Warriors played terribly in the first half and hoped to turn the tables and make it a 15 point or so game. To the third!
To start the 3rd quarter Dennis Schröder made a layup to give the Lakers a 31 point lead. At 11:10 James Wiseman made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Warriors their first point of the quarter and make it a 30 point game. At 10:37 Kelly Oubre Jr. got a dunk to make it a 28 point game. At 6:34 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a 3 to give the Lakers a 30 point lead. With 40 seconds left in the quarter Talen Horton-Tucker got a 3 point play to give the 35 point lead. To end the quarter Kent Bazemore made a buzzer beater 3 to make it a 30 point game. At the end of the third quarter the Lakers were leading 99-69. LeBron James and Stephen Curry were the leading scorers after the 3rd quarter with 19 points and 16 points respectively. The Warriors ended with 18 fewer rebounds, 1 fewer steal, 2 fewer blocks, 1 more turnover, and 7 more fouls than the Lakers after the first 3 quarters. The Warriors and Lakers also had 21 assists each. The Warriors were still shooting pretty badly with 40.3% from the field and 25% from behind the arch. The Lakers on the contrary were still shooting well with 51.6% from the field and 41.7% from deep. In the 4th quarter both teams were looking to play well and finish the game.
To start the 4th quarter Alex Caruso made a fadeaway jumper to give the Lakers a 32 point lead. At the 11 minute mark Eric Paschall made a pullup jumper to cut the Laker lead to 30 and give the Warriors their first points of the quarter. At 1:41 Brad Wanamaker made a technical free throw to make it a 29 point game. To end the game Eric Paschall made a 3. The Lakers won 117-91.
Leo’s Courtside Commentary: This was the Warriors worst game of the season losing it by 26 points. Eric Paschall was the leading scorer for the Warriors with 18 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Stephen Curry also played decently with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. LeBron James led the Lakers with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Markieff Morris also played well for the Lakers with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Warriors ended up with 4 more assists, 25 fewer rebounds, 4 fewer steals, 2 fewer blocks, 1 more turnover, and 4 more fouls than the Lakers. The Warriors ended up shooting a terrible 40.7% from the field, 23.5% from 3, and 68.4% on free throws. Unlike the Warriors the Lakers shot well with 47.1% from the field, 35.5% from downtown, and 68.4% from the free throw line. The Warriors and Lakers both had the same percentage from the free throw line but the Lakers were 26/38 and the Warriors were 13/19 from the free throw line. The Lakers won this game in the first half winning it by 29 points. The Warriors actually won the 2nd half by 3 points which was surprising. Draymond Green tweaked his ankle in this game which wasn’t great either. Overall, this was a very disappointing blowout loss for the Warriors. On the date of this game it was also my aunt Bijou’s birthday, so happy birthday Bijou if you are reading this.
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I’m really glad I didn’t watch this game. Thank you for the detailed recap and commentary. It was a quick way to experience a painful loss. As always I appreciate this well written Blog.
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