New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Warriors - Game 80

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Warriors- Game 80

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (28-35) | Golden State Warriors (43-21)

 

A career high 40 points from Talen Horton-Tucker was unfortunately not enough last night, with the Lakers falling to the Warriors 128-112.

 

Talen Horton-Tucker got things going by leading a 9-2 run to start the scoring, warming up for an impressive night of ball.  Klay Thompson brought it back to a one score game following the run, hitting a signature three before Andrew Wiggins could follow with the go-ahead shot.  The Lakers continued their first-quarter success seen all season, however, with an 11-3 run to seemingly set the tone in response, they would maintain the lead throughout the quarter, with the Warriors only grabbing the lead once.

THT and Austin Reaves combined for 21 points in the first, a big reason they entered the second up by 5.  Even without Steph Curry for Golden State, there was more than enough time for the Warriors to throw any worries away.  They did get off to a slow start last night, with Thompson only having 5 points in the quarter.  Los Angeles seemed to be trying to end the season on a high note, looking to keep ahead knowing the Warriors were not at full effort.

Thompson brought it back to a one-score game again from three to start the second, letting it transition into a 16-4 run for the Warriors.  The script was flipped early again for the Lakers, with Nemanja Bjelica scoring 7 points during the sequence.  Malik Monk brought it close with a three for Los Angeles, leading to a sequence of 12 lead changes.

The game was back and forth all half, with the age-old story of a big lead lost for Los Angeles.  The Warriors maintained the edge going into the break, but given the big 3 were sitting for the Lakers, a lot of credit should be given.  THT had 17 by halftime, combining with Monk for 30 points to lead the offense early.  Monk was a storyline more on the rare positive side this season for Laker Nation, which is sure to garner him more respect going into next season.

Of course, the deadly Warriors ended up being no match at the end of the day, but the Lakers’ willingness to fight was there.  Thompson had 23 points in the half for Golden State, showing clear signs of going off in the second half as well.   The Warriors were shooting 50 percent from three to counter below 30 percent with the Lakers.  Realistically, it was impossible to grab and maintain any sort of lead last night for LA.

 

The Lakers kept toe to toe with the Warriors in the first half, going into the break down only 3 at 65-62.

 

Horton-Tucker and Monk led another run to take the lead back in the early minutes of the third, showing that last night was clearly their game to shine.  Dwight Howard also got into the action, following up the run with three relentless baskets from inside the paint.  Similar to his days in Orlando, Howard was in a fight to help keep LA ahead.

Jordan Poole eventually brought it back to a one-score game before Wiggins could tie it up again from three.  An 11-3 run to end the quarter for the Warriors established the deficit once again to the Lakers’ dismay.

The Warriors would continue to add on to the lead until closing out the loss for the Lakers. One thing to note, however, is that THT only had 21 points going into the fourth.  He would absolutely ball out for 19 in the quarter, reaching 40 for the first time in his career. However, Thompson sealed the deal with 6-10 three-point shooting, showing signs of his old days right as the playoffs near ever so closer.

Howard was able to bring it to single digits by hitting his own three, shooting 66 percent in that department on limited attempts, but the Warriors corrected that by eventually increasing their lead by 16, and securing themselves the win. This marked yet another loss in the books for Frank Vogel.

 

The Lakers welcome the Thunder tonight at 7:30, showing on Spectrum.           

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Duncan Dye – Franchise Sports Media

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