Warriors avenge big loss to Lakers in equal fashion
In their first meeting this season, the Lakers didn’t just beat the Warriors, they dominated the Western Conference favorites.
On Wednesday night at Oracle Arena, the Warriors exacted revenge with a dazzling display that left even the opposing coach awestruck.
The Lakers lost, 149-106, in a game that was all but over by the end of the first quarter.
“That was a beautiful exhibition they put on us out there,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “I told the guys, it’s been a great start to the season so far, right? We’re at .500. We got Thanksgiving tomorrow. Take the day, enjoy it, spend it with your family, we get another shot at them on Friday. As painful as this game was, what’s great about the NBA is you always have a chance to redeem yourself a day or two days later.”
Stephen Curry scored 31 points and was one of three Warriors to score more than 20. Kevin Durant had 28 and Klay Thompson scored 26. Draymond Green’s shot wouldn’t fall (one for six) but he had 11 assists and nine rebounds. The Warriors had a franchise-record 47 assists.
“The way they played looked fun,” Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. said. “They had 47 assists and that’s obviously what you strive to be. They had one of those nights.”
Lakers forward Brandon Ingram, the second overall pick in the draft, made his first career start and scored a career-high 16 points. Backup guards Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson also scored 16 points each.
Walton’s first trip back to Oakland since leaving to become the Lakers coach started better than it ended.
He spent the afternoon with friend and mentor Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach. He arrived at the arena hours later to familiar faces, feeling odd walking through the building as a visitor this time.
After the Warriors announced the Lakers’ lineup, they lingered on Walton. The crowd stood and cheered for the man who helped them win 73 games last season by going 39-4 as the interim head coach. Walton looked up around the arena and smiled, with the camera fixed on him and the cheers morphed into a hearty, “LUUUUUUUKE.”
The Lakers were playing on the second night of a back-to-back situation, having beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder by two on Tuesday when Nick Young made an off-balance three-pointer with five seconds left in the game.
They lacked starters D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, both of whom sat out with injuries. Randle played through a hip pointer on Tuesday. He said if the games weren’t on consecutive nights, it’s likely he would not have missed one.
Russell’s injury is expected to sideline him for two weeks, the Lakers said. He was dealing with a left knee injury the Lakers have termed as “sore.” He had a platelet-rich plasma injection on Wednesday, a minimally invasive procedure that, with rest, can help heal trauma. Once his rehab starts, it will begin with stabilization exercises and light cardio.
Russell is averaging 16.1 points a game.
Short-handed and worn, the Lakers were outmatched from wire to wire.
The teams’ previous meeting ended Curry’s streak of 157 games with a three-pointer as the Warriors star missed all 10 of his three-point attempts. He and Thompson combined to go two for 20 from the three-point line.
On Wednesday, Curry made four three-pointers in the first quarter, and added two more by halftime. He might have approached the record-setting 13 he made earlier this month against the New Orleans Pelicans, but Kerr sat him for the fourth quarter.
The early barrage proved too much for the Lakers to overcome.
Twitter: @taniaganguli
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