Lakers Final Score: Klay Thompson, Warriors Obliterate LA In Game 2, Even Series
Well, that's not what you want.
After your Los Angeles Lakers pulled out a close 117-112 road victory against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, the Warriors responded in kind today, riding some hot shooting, more post play, and a new wrinkle for Stephen Curry in the offense to a tremendous 127-100 blowout victory.
The best-of-seven series is now tied, 1-1, and heads to Los Angeles for a crucial Game 3 on Saturday.
We had little inkling that LA was en route to a massacre in the opening quarter, as a hot start from LeBron James appeared to portend more smoothing sailing ahead.
James notched his first double-digit opening quarter of the 2023 playoffs, scoring 14 quick points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-3 from deep!).
Combo power forward Rui Hachimura also nabbed eight quick points in the opening frame.
After going just 6-of-26 from long range in Game 1, Los Angeles was clearly looking to remedy that early tonight, striving to take and make triples in rhythm. The Lakers went 5-of-8 from three in the first frame and connected on 52% of their shots overall from the floor. The Lakers were up after the opening period, 33-26.
But the good vibrations for Los Angeles would be short lived at Chase Center on this night.
An aggressive second quarter featuring far more post work from the Warriors quickly got in LA's head. Golden State started off on a 10-2 run, prompting the Lakers to call for a timeout with 9:17 remaining in the half.
Golden State started off the game wary of tempting Anthony Davis defensively, but we were treated to a "Bad AD" night on offense, which effectively neutralized him.
The Warriors clawed their way back into the game with a terrific second quarter, thanks especially to the play of LA native Klay Thompson, who scored 14 of his 19 first-half points in the second quarter.
Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, and Jordan Poole all picked up their third fouls of the night in the final three minutes of the opening half, as the bout threatened to get out-of-hand for Los Angeles. Dennis Schroder helped close the gap with some late free throws, but LA still trailed by double digits at the break, 67-56.
James led all Lakers with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting (3-of-5) from deep, plus five rebounds and one assist. Per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, James has now notched 20 or more points in the first half of a playoff game a whopping 49 times throughout his storied career. Davis had a quiet start to the game, scoring just four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, but grabbing five rebounds, passing for four assists, and notching a steal and a block in 20:55.
Golden State outscored LA 41-23 in the second quarter. The Warriors also outscored the Lakers in the paint through the first half, 30-18, in a total reversal of Game 1.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr opted for an interesting approach with Stephen Curry tonight, utilizing the league's all-time three-point shooter more as a passer and set-up man than a scorer.
An absolutely dominant Warriors third quarter got ugly in a hurry. By the end of the frame, Golden State had built its lead to 30 points, 110-80, and the game was all but over with 12 minutes of garbage time impending. The Warriors somehow managed to top their tremendous second quarter with an even more tremendous third quarter, where they outscored the Lakers 43-24.
With the game out of hand, Darvin Ham subbed out veterans James, Davis and Schroder for good prior to the start of the fourth. Max Christie and Tristan Thompson played major minutes down the stretch -- that's how brutal this blowout was! Rui Hachimura and Troy Brown Jr., who are actually part of LA's rotation, did get a little time in the fourth quarter, but they, too, were both removed for good with 8:44 remaining.
Kerr, meanwhile, took Thompson out at the top of the quarter, and removed Andrew Wiggins, Curry and Draymond Green by the 8:44 mark as well.
On the ESPN broadcast, commentator Jeff Van Gundy noted that Curry's playmaking via pick-and-roll actions had really helped goose Golden State's offense tonight. Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer had the numbers to confirm it:
James had a really solid start, but fell apart a bit in the second half. Still, he finished with a decent 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in just 28:07.
Davis had a horrific scoring night, putting up just 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Though that number may at least look efficient, it's a total indictment of his lack of aggression. He frequently tried to force up bunnies instead of diving to the hole, and many of those floaters fell short, though they had gone in during Game 1. The 6'10" big man was unaggressive and deferential on offense. It was a far cry from the 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks he contributed in leading LA to that Game 1 victory.
Hachimura helped pick up the scoring slack with Davis under-performing, notching 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting (4-of-6 from long range) and five boards.
For the Warriors, Thompson led the way with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field (8-of-11 from deep) in just 31:12.
Curry finished with 20 on 7-of-12 shooting, but also chipped in a whopping 12 dimes. Green, who largely avoided the foul issues that plagued him in Game 1, was one assist shy of a triple-double, logging 11 points, 11 boards and nine dimes. Per O'Connor, Green defended Davis directly for 62% of his plays was on the hardwood, as opposed to just 34% in Game 1. The defensive switch from Looney to Green, even if it was in part motivated by Looney's illness, appears to have made a significant impact.
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