Warriors cooled off in defeat to Lakers
Blowout loss shows gap between NBA’s best, Dubs
The Warriors may have thought they answered questions about inconsistency with their first threegame win streak of the season but, if Sunday’s 117-91 loss to the Lakers proved anything, it is too early to dispel those concerns.
With a convincing win over the Hornets on Friday, the Warriors had an opportunity Sunday at Staples Center to extend their season-best winning streak and earn a statement victory over the reigning champions. Instead, they lacked energy, allowed themselves to become discouraged by missed shots and suffered another blowout loss to one of the NBA’s elite.
“We had some good momentum (entering the night),” said forward Eric Paschall, who finished with a team-high 18 points. “But obviously, it just didn’t go our way tonight.”
The final moments of the first half were especially demoralizing. Second-year Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker easily barreled through guard Damion Lee, sending Lee flying past the stan
chion, for a layup with 4:23 remaining to put the Lakers up by 29 points. Seconds later, forward Draymond Green sprained his left ankle while contesting a layup and exited the game with 4:15 to go. Then, LeBron James walked into a 3-pointer at the buzzer that
felt like a dagger despite there being two more quarters to play. At halftime, the Warriors announced Green would not return. At that point, it was clear there was no reason to risk Green’s long-term health to chase a win.
Until Sunday, the Warriors (19-16) were playing their best basketball of the season. The defense, ranked fourth in rating, gave up few open shots
and gave Golden State a chance each night. Green (six points on 3-for-5 shooting, one rebound and two assists in 13 minutes) was thriving as a playmaker. Stephen Curry (16 points on 5-for-13 shooting and seven assists in 26 minutes) was playing at an MVP level and the starting lineup with center Kevon Looney back from injury was establishing early leads.