Warriors regroup, blast Lakers, 127-100, to even series
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Sat, 06 May 2023
Chase Center, USA -
The Dubs unveiled a terrific Plan B as they rout the visiting Lakers, 127-100, Thursday night in San Francisco.
Leading all scorers was Klay Thompson who posted 30 thrilling points, going 11-for-18 from the field and 8-of-11 beyond the arc, adding to a team record of 21 total treys that equaled their playoff record of 21 in Game #1.
Steph Curry, splashed another 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 3-of-5 treys made.
Curry attracted much of the Lakers defense, and instead of forcing shots he shared the ball, posting a game-high 12 assists on his first playoff double-double since last season’s NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Andrew Wiggins dropped 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and was instrumental in key set-up plays that allowed the Splash Brothers to operate smoothly.
Coach Steve Kerr, who was not about to drive the Dubs into an 0-2 hole, unveiled a contingency plan that may have saved the series.
JaMychal Green (15 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists) started instead of Iron Man Kevon Looney.
After his previous sub-par performance, Draymond Green almost posted a triple-double (11 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists), intensified his offense and attacked the basket while the Lakers concentrated on stopping the Splash Brothers.
The resulting ‘Green Screen’, alternately fortified by JaMychal and on-court general Draymond, contained and befuddled both Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Collectively, the Warriors outshot and outmaneuvered the overconfident Lakers who took Game #1 with ease— shooting 48-of-95 buckets (50.5% FG), sniping 21-of-42 treys (50% 3-PT), scored more in the paint (48 to 42 points), and pushed the pedal to the metal with more fast break points (17 to 7), and led by as much as 32 points with more dishes (38 to 27 assists).
The Warriors caught fire in the second quarter, led 67-56 at halftime, sustained their lead in the third, and started the fourth quarter leading 110-80.
All night, Golden State kept their composure by protecting the ball despite giving up more turnovers (16 to 9) that resulted in more points after gaffes (14 points to LAC); in addition, they controlled both boards with more rebounds (55 to 40 grabs) thwarting any comebacks from the Lakers.
Moses Moody (10 pts.), Donte DiVincenzo (8 pts.), and Gary Payton II (7 pts.) led the bench while Jordan Poole remained dormant with 7 points.
Kevon Looney, reportedly feeling slightly under the weather, chipped in 6 points (3-of-6 from the field) and 8 rebounds in only 12 minutes of playtime. Jonathan Kuminga was silent with 3 points.
By contrast, the Lakers failed to repeat their Game #1 brilliance and were outshined from near and afar, shooting 40-of-94 baskets (42.6% FG), 10-of-34 treys (29.4% 3-PT), and briefly led by 7 points. Despite having more steals (9 to 2), the Lakers could not capitalize and jumpstart their cold offense.
It was a relatively clean game, i.e. limited fouls (23 Dubs to 15 LAC), but both teams were ineffective on the free throw line (10-for-16 and 62.5% Dubs to 10-for-17 and 58.8% LAC).
The Warriors and Lakers now head to Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to untie the series this Saturday, 5:30 p.m. on May 6, 2023.
Note of Appreciation:
The collage photos, statistics and quotes in this article are courtesy of the NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and brought to you by PhilBoxing.com.
