As in the Christmas match, the two teams went blow for blow from the start of the match. The offensive rebounds and four 3-pointers from the duo Stephen Curry (13 points, 4/17 shots, 9 assists) – Gary Payton II (12 points) give the Warriors the advantage but LeBron James And Anthony Davis keep their Lakers in contact (16-16). Despite the good entry of Dennis Schroder, the address then flees Golden State and a dunk at the buzzer from Dalton Knecht (13 points) puts Los Angeles in front of the score (27-26).
While the Lakers continue to lose balls, the Warriors benefit little. With the exception of Curry and Schroder, the Dubs still lack skill and LeBron James keeps LA in front (42-39). Two 2+1s from Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves (16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) give their team a six-point lead, but Golden State responds immediately thanks to Andrew Wiggins (20 points) and Brandin Podziemski ( 17 points) to stay in ambush at the break (59-58).
Mute until now, Buddy Hield opens his counter to start the second half, but the James – Davis duo continues their work and the Lakers inflict an 18-7 on the Warriors, finished by two 3-pointers from Max Christie in the corners (77-65)! Eight points from Quinten Post (10 points) stopped the bleeding for Golden State. Los Angeles, however, begins the final period with a six-point lead (89-83).
The Warriors' good spell, however, was only short-lived. With Stephen Curry clumsy and silent in the second half, they missed their chance to get back together and on the other side, LeBron James went into bulldozer mode to give his team an 11-point lead (98-87).
Golden State tries to push to come back but there is nothing to do. The Lakers are heading towards a third victory in a row while the Warriors fall below the 50% victory mark.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Anthony Davis dominant. The Lakers star continues to be the bane of the Warriors. With a significant size advantage against most of the opposing interiors, he dictated his law in the paint (36 points, 13 rebounds). Whether under the circle and three meters away (8/14), or at the head of the racket (5/6), Golden State never found the solution to slow it down. And when they slowed him down, it was only to send him to free throws (10/12).
– The three points in the corner kill Golden State. Both teams were clumsy from afar (34%) but the Lakers, who took 17 fewer outside shots than their opponent in the evening, knew how to put away those who hurt. They in fact made 5/7 in the corners during ten minutes between the third quarter and the start of the fourth, to take more than ten points in advance. With the attention generated by Davis and James, Dalton Knecht (2/4), Max Christie (2/2), and Dorian Finney-Smith (1/1) made the Warriors pay while, at the same time, the Steve Kerr's men missed the opportunities to get back into the game.
– The Lakers defense undermines the rhythm of the Warriors. JJ Redick and his staff had opted for a simple but effective defensive strategy. Everything except Stephen Curry. When the Golden State star was on the court, the Lakers forced the leader to go towards the circle. While he started the game aggressively, taking five 3-pointers in the first quarter, he was only able to take four in the final three quarters and finished the game at 4/17 on shots. Every time he blew on the bench, the Lakers systematically moved into the zone to break the rhythm of the other Warriors and force them to be more active. This strategy paid off as Golden State finished the game at 45% on shots while losing 14 balls.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
