Who would have seen this results before the actual game? The LA Lakers young upstarts were expected to find the going tough against the Golden State Warriors. Instead they came away from Staples Center with a 20-point victory over Steve Kerr’s men, winning 117-97.
It was student versus master as Luke Walton’s troops got the better of his former boss and team. Perhaps it was some of his inside knowledge of the Warriors playbook and players that saw them over the line but they were also helped by some impressive performances by their own players.
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Julius Randle and Lou Williams both scored 20 points with Randle also grabbing 14 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell put up figures of 17 points, four assists and two rebounds. Larry Nance Jr. and Nick Young finished with 12 points apiece with South Sudan’s Luol Deng getting three points, four boards and three dishes in the game.
They punished any mistakes the visiting team made, picking them off when they couldn’t find their teammates. The Warriors made 20 turnovers with a 45.3 field goal percentage, averaging an horrendous 15.6 percent from 3-point land. The Lakers made more of their shots, scoring on 45 of their 95 attempts.
It was a huge off night for the Dubs who couldn’t get going from 3-point range, they scored only five from 35 attempts from beyond the arc. It was a long hard slog and they couldn’t get out of their shooting hole. Curry’s particular woes saw him go 0-10 from beyond the arc, ending his record-breaking run of scoring at least one 3 in 157 straight regular season games. It wasn’t just Curry who toiled as Klay Thompson also struggled, making 2-10 3-pointers as he scored 10 points in the game, Curry finished with 13 points and 11 assists to go with eight rebounds.
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Kevin Durant was the best player for the Warriors as he fought hard, top-scoring with 27 points. He also grabbed five rebounds with three assists, two steals and a block. Draymond Green scored 16 points, claimed nine rebounds, with four assists and four steals. It was a chastening loss for the Dubs whose record now reads 4-2. The Lakers will be delighted with the win, their third of the season to leave them with a 3-3 season record.
By Cyrus Rogers
@cyrusjrogers on Twitter
