It was an all-out duel on Saturday night as LeBron James’ 56-point explosion combined with offensive struggles in the final frame resulted in a 124-116 Dubs' defeat in Los Angeles.
While the Lakers led early in the contest, the Warriors used a second quarter spurt to gain their biggest advantage of the night (14) and sustain the lead through the third frame. However James and the Lakers remained relentless, outscoring the Warriors 35-22 in the fourth quarter of the Saturday night thriller.
TEAM LEADERS
BATTLE UNTIL THE END
Though the Dubs held the lead entering the final frame, (LeBron) James went on a 9-0 run to give the Lakers their first lead of the night in the second half (100-97). And while the Warriors responded with a series of scores of their own, James facilitated the Lakers’ final offensive play of the night - an assist on Carmelo Anthony’s dagger splash - that gave the Lakers a six-point lead with just 34.3 seconds remaining in regulation to close out the game.
BENCH BRIGADE
The Warriors bench outscored the Lakers 55-22, with Jordan Poole splashing four treys on his way to 23 points and five assists. Dubs rookies went to work with Jonathan Kuminga posting 18 points and five rebounds, shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and Moses Moody tallying nine points in 21 minutes of play. Forward Juan-Toscano Anderson added five points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals on the night.
30 FOR 30 AGAIN
Stephen Curry recorded a team-high 30 points and four rebounds, shooting 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from the field and 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from 3-point range. It was the sharpshooter's 19th outing of 30-plus points on the 2021-22 season.
UP NEXT
With Saturday night’s loss to the Lakers, the Warriors remain 0-3 on this current road trip as the squad meet the Denver Nuggets on Monday night for their fourth and final game on the road (6 p.m., NBA TV, NBCSBA).
More Notables:
- The Warriors fell to 43-21 (.672) overall and 17-14 (.548) on the road.
- Jordan Poole tallied 23 points off the bench, his second-straight 20-point game and 18th of the season.
- Otto Porter Jr. recorded his second double-double of the season (40th career) with 10 points and season-high-tying 10 rebounds in his 14th start of the season.