Lakers: L.A. Clinches First Preseason Win Against Warriors
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Your Los Angeles Lakers are in the winning column at last, for the first time in 10 preseason games (going back to the team's winless 2021 preseason). They downed a Golden State Warriors team without Draymond Green or Klay Thompson in a nail-biter, 124-121, despite missing LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley themselves.
Though the aforementioned L.A. vets over 30 proved to be late scratches tonight, star big man Anthony Davis did return after a two-game absence to feast on the Warriors' bigs in three quarters.
Head coach Darvin Ham started 6'5" Austin Reaves at point guard, 6'4" Lonnie Walker at shooting guard, 6'6" rookie Max Christie at small forward, 6'6" ex-Warrior Juan Toscano-Anderson at power forward, and 6'10" big man Davis at center.
The first quarter of the contest proved to be a high-scoring affair. Both sides played each other dead-even, finishing the frame knotted at 35-35.
Anthony Davis, returning from a back injury, looked fully engaged on both ends of the floor tonight. Check out this vicious block on All-Star Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins:
The second period started out with both teams exchanging baskets.
Oft-injured third-year center James Wiseman looked good in his minutes off the bench, backing up recently re-signed incumbent starter Kevon Looney. Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins also scored in bunches for Golden State.
The Lakers seemed to be taking Darvin Ham's emphasis on pushing the pace to heart. They ran plenty of solid downhill actions in the frame, often featuring Davis or Juan Toscano-Anderson. JTA had been expected to sit so he could nurse a thigh contusion incurred early in the team's preseason loss Thursday to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but instead wound up starting for L.A. and making big contributions when he did play.
Los Angeles soon began outscoring Golden State in the second quarter, thanks in large part to the hyper-efficient output of Anthony Davis and reserve combo guard Kendrick Nunn.
Toscano-Anderson made some sharp reads on the court tonight, including this excellent lob dish to AD for a vicious slam:
Things got pretty dunk-tastic throughout the period. Even Austin Reaves got in on the action, shaking his defender Stephen Curry on an Anthony Davis screen to slip in for a sneaky flush:
The Lakers pulled away from the Warriors, opening up an eight-point lead at the break, 60-52.
Davis led all scorers in the contest's initial half with a stellar 24 points, on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor (and 2-of-3 shooting from deep) and a perfect 8-for-8 conversion rate from the charity stripe, in just 16:27 minutes. He also chipped in two rebounds, two dimes, and that aforementioned monster block in the first half. Nunn chipped in 14 points and Walker shone bright with nine. Michigan State alum Christie helped the team on the defensive end of the floor.
On the Warriors side for the half, Stephen Curry had 16 points at the break, while Andrew Wiggins poured in 11.
For the first half, L.A. actually shot more triples at a better clip than Golden State (8-for-19 vs. 5-for-17). The Lakers also took better care of the ball, turning it over a still-not-great eight times as opposed to the Warriors' 13.
Aggressive play from Curry, Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole (whose face post-Draymond looked none the worse for wear) helped the Warriors open up a 21-11 run to start the third quarter. The Lakers starters looked pretty gassed midway through the frame, allowing the Warriors to briefly pull ahead. Poole finished with a whopping 18 points in the third quarter alone!
Juan Toscano-Anderson's stellar two-way night continued apace in the period:
The Warriors concluded the third period slightly on top, 91-89.
Ham began the game's final frame with a lineup comprising Nunn, Christie, Exhibit 9 signing Matt Ryan, and a large front line of power forward Wenyen Gabriel and center Thomas Bryant.
Ryan and Christie helped Los Angeles get back on top, chipping in a run of three straight triples to get L.A. up 98-94.
Brand-new training camp signing Shaquille Harrison got some late-game action, and immediately made his presence felt on the defensive end of the hardwood:
Matt Ryan did all his damage in the game's second half. The 6'7" swingman went 6-of-9 from long range tonight. As an excellent marksman and off-ball cutter, he could prove to be a massive help to the Lakers' cramped floor spacing. Get this kid a regular season deal, Rob Pelinka!
Anthony Davis finished the contest as L.A.'s leading scorer, scoring 28 points, on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor, in just 21:25 minutes. He also wrapped up with three boards, three dimes and a block.
Kendrick Nunn may have been the Lakers' other big standout of the night. Throughout this preseason thus far, the 6'2" combo guard has been showing little sign of rust, despite being sidelined for the entire 2021-22 season with a bone bruise. The Oakland University product scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor (including 4-of-7 from three-point land). He also dished out seven assists and pulled down four rebounds.
Nunn showcased a diverse portfolio of scoring approaches. Check out this smooth lay-in beneath the basket in the fourth quarter:
With the victory, L.A.'s preseason record moves to 1-3.
The Lakers have just two preseason games left. L.A. will next suit up for a rematch against the Minnesota Timberwolves this coming Wednesday, before concluding its exhibition slate on Friday, with the team's second preseason bout against the Sacramento Kings. Los Angeles's regular season will tip off against the Warriors on Tuesday, October 18th, via a TNT broadcast.
