Lakers' stars outshined by Warriors in fourth
All season long, the Lakers have been trying to shake the best out of a creaky veteran roster.
But on Saturday night, it was Golden State that got the best blast from the past.
The Lakers fought valiantly in their first game after an emotionally turbulent trade deadline, trying desperately to turn the page on the struggles that have so far defined their season. But a combined 61 points from LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, as well as a spirited bench performance, could not overcome the Warriors' Klay Thompson finding his mojo with 16 points in the fourth quarter, giving Golden State a 117-115 win against a team that can ill afford to lose.
James is no stranger to the Splash Brothers thwarting his progress. It happened again Saturday night at Chase Center when Thompson helped erase a six-point Lakers lead in the fourth quarter. Thompson, who has missed the last two seasons with injury, hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:35 left, then after the Lakers failed to score on three putback at- tempts off a missed free throw, Steph Curry popped in a layup that would prove to be the winning points.
However, the Lakers had a chance to force overtime: James was fouled by Curry on a 3-pointer with 2.3, putting him at the line with a chance to tie the score at 117all. But James missed the first attempt, forcing him to throw up a high, arcing shot so the Lakers had a chance at the rebound. But the ball caromed
THE SCORE
WARRIORS 117, LAKERS 115
Up next: Jazz at Lakers, Wednesday, 7p.m., SpecSN, ESPN outside the paint, and James could not hurl up a final shot in time.
James is above his career average in free-throw shooting this season (75.3%), but as a team, the Lakers (72.3%) are the second-worst freethrow-shooting team in the NBA. They left a lot of points on the board against the Warriors, going just 22 for 33 from the line, and it was their fifth straight game shooting under 70% from the line.
“I didn't make enough plays down the stretch to help our ballclub win,” James said. “I liked some of the looks I had. I definitely got hit on a few of the shots, but (the Warriors) definitely did a good job. … It happens.”
Even though this loss to the second-place team in the West was more spirited than others the Lakers have taken this season, it was still their third straight, and their seventh in their last nine games. Coach Frank Vogel had signaled that the Lakers had a new, positive energy at Friday's practice after Thursday's trade deadline had passed without a move, but improving their record and standing in the West continues to elude them.
Still, the Lakers have continued to kick the can down the road, saying they think they're building toward the postseason — even though they're now in ninth place in a single-elimination playin spot. They still believe they have a high level within them, which they're more inspired to reach now that the deadline has gone, and they know what their team will look like down the stretch.
“Guys had a little more swag today, a little more confidence, more energy, played with more of a purpose,” Davis said. “If we can play like this for the rest of the season, we'll continue to put ourselves in position to be successful.”
The Lakers got a huge boost from their reserves, with Malik Monk, Austin Reaves and Talen Horton-Tucker scoring all 42 of the points off the bench (to Golden State's 20). Reaves had one of the best highlights of the game after Thompson blew by him in the second half, trailing him for the chase-down block off the glass.
Vogel thought back to any number of odd plays that resulted in the ball winding up in Golden State's hands, including a deflection by Avery Bradley that bounced to Thompson, or a rebound that bounced off the side of Davis' face as it shot back toward the 3-point line for a Warriors basket.
They were cold-blooded when the Lakers gave them another shot, going 4 for 4 on second-chance opportunities to score 10 points in the fourth.
“Man, just one of those nights where a lot of bad bounces didn't go our way,” Vogel said, shaking his head. “But give credit to those guys: They made five threes down the stretch, big shots, a lot of them guarded. It was just too much for us to overcome. But still, still feel good about our guys response to where we were at a few days ago.”
Perhaps the player who improved his standing the most was Westbrook, who in his last appearance was benched in the fourth quarter. He scored 19 points with seven rebounds and five assists against a single turnover, helping charge the Lakers in the second and third quarters.
“He was really locked in to what we were trying to do defensively, and really talking to guys and leading,” said Vogel. “And played with a great competitive spirit, didn't turn the ball over much, and was efficient offensively.
“It's just disappointing we didn't get this W because I thought there was a lot of positive signs.”