New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Warriors - Game 57

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Warriors- Game 57

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (26-31) |Golden State Warriors (42-15)

 

The Lakers messed up another lead in the fourth, this time falling to the Warriors 117-115.

 

The Lakers decided not to give up Westbrook and a 1st round 2027 draft pick in exchange for John Wall.  Denying the trade with the Rockets at the deadline may be a good decision when thinking past this season.  With that said, that means this is the team Laker Nation will have to rely on for the rest of the year while they put up a good fight against the deadly Warriors.  The Warriors made no changes either, already having tremendous depth in their starters and bench.

Klay Thompson and James got the scoring started last night, with Andrew Wiggins and Avery Bradley trading threes in response.  Jonathon Kuminga would lead a 9-0 run for the Warriors, with two highlight dunks right through the lane.  James took exception to this seemingly, as he responded with two straight buckets – one a dunk similar to Kuminga’s display.  The Lakers would go 6-12 on free throws in the first, however, helping the Warriors maintain the lead early.

Steph Curry posted 9 points in the first quarter for Golden State, but buckets by James and Anthony Davis would trim the lead to just two in the final seconds.  Poole and Lee responded with a 6-1 run to end the quarter, giving them a small but reasonable lead over Los Angeles.  It was a clean quarter for both sides, but the Lakers had a long night ahead of them in perimeter defense.

Klay Thompson led a 9-0 run to start the second for the Warriors, giving them their largest lead of the night at fifteen.  James would end the streak with a layup, but Thompson hit one more time from deep, and the Warriors were comfortable early in the second.  That comfort wouldn’t last long – Talen Horton-Tucker, James, and Austin Reaves hit consecutive threes, with Reaves cutting the lead to just seven.  The rookie Kuminga just wouldn’t let up for the Lakers, as he kept the lead close to double-digits towards the end of the half.

Avery Bradley made sure to make something happen before the break, as he put up a jumper and a three right at the end of play.  It cut the deficit to just three, ending a tremendous first half for both sides.  James had 18 at the break, but 7-11 shooting from deep had them close with the two-seeded team in their conference.  The Warriors shot a disappointing 29 percent from deep, and they looked to improve a reliable aspect of their game in the second half.

 

The Lakers cut a 15 deficit to just three by the break as they looked to overcome Golden State down 65-62.

 

The second half would remain close to the start, with the Warriors maintaining a slight lead of two early in the third.  Westbrook would hit a rare three, but Wiggins responded with his own bucket.  Klay Thompson would score to put them up by four, where James would follow from deep with a three.  Curry then led a 10-2 run to put the Warriors back up by nine.

The game would intensify even more towards the end of the third. Malik Monk would cut the lead to two with a three, allowing Talen Horton-Tucker to follow by giving the Lakers the lead with a three of his own.  Poole immediately responded from deep to put his team back on top, but Austin Reaves hit a jumper at the end of the third to have the Lakers down just one heading into the final quarter.

Horton-Tucker didn’t wait long to put the Lakers back up, leading a 7-0 run to start the fourth.  Klay Thompson wasn’t worried, leading an 8-2 run to tie the game quickly for Golden State.  That dominance would only continue after the Lakers got the lead back with a 6-0 run.  Thompson would hit three more from deep to have his team up two with a minute to play.  He finished with 33 points on the night, his first 30-point game since his return, but the Lakers had time to get it back.

Davis would cut the lead to one with 1-2 from the line, but he missed the tying shot they needed.  Curry drove in response and gave his team the three-point lead that secured the win.  James was fouled on a three-point attempt with a chance to tie, but he missed two of the three shots.  Another night and another loss for the Lakers, and with no new players to look to, that’s all that can be said.  They extended their road losing streak to 6 games, as the Warriors used last night to continue their stellar season.

James had 26 points and 14 rebounds to continue his streak, but 33 from Thompson shut them down.  They had many opportunities to win, but they didn’t have that mindset in place at the time.  Following an embarrassing loss to the Trail Blazers, they proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot late once again.  The Warriors gain ground on the Suns while pursuing the one seed in the Western Conference.

 

The Lakers welcome a great team in the Jazz on Wednesday. The game can be seen at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.

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 Duncan Dye – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Duncan on Instagram @duncan.dye42

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