The Lakers couldn’t keep up with the Golden State Warriors in the second half on Tuesday, losing 111-97 in Las Vegas.
Neither team shot particularly well as the Lakers finished 11-40 (27.5%) from the 3-point line and 34-95 (35.8%) overall. Golden State did shoot 44-96 (45.8%) from the field but only 14-45 from the arc (31.1%).
Anthony Davis had a stellar game with 24 points on 10-12 shooting along with 12 rebounds. LeBron James dropped six points with two rebounds and four assists.
Austin Reaves pitched in with 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Rui Hachimura had a strong showing with 15 points and nine rebounds. Dalton Knecht had 19 points.
Rui and Austin took turns leading the offense to start the game. Both knocked down 3-pointers to give LA a comfortable lead after falling down three early. At the first timeout, Los Angeles was up two. Both teams played with great intensity and the Lakers were shooting 40% from the field.
The Warriors took the lead by two after a dunk by Jonathan Kuminga. AD started cooking with six quick points. He also threw a nice alley-oop to Jaxson Hayes for a dunk. Neither team established a real lead, and the Warriors were up one at the end of the first.
The offense started slow for both teams as they struggled to make shots until the Warriors connected on a layup. Rui’s great first half continued with a difficult midrange shot as he was falling to the floor.
Although LA was making shots, Golden State had most of the momentum and they went up eight. Knecht made his first shot of the game, which was a 3-pointer. At the halfway point, the Warriors were up six.
The Warriors were making most of their shots while the Lakers struggled. After being down by 10, the Lakers battled back to get it to within four. Steph Curry then knocked down a three and kept the Warriors up by seven at halftime.
D’Angelo Russell knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer for Los Angeles as they started the second half struggling to score. He then drained another one to make it a three-point game. D’Lo shimmied after his three and Steph made a three and shimmied right back at him in a fun exchange.
The Lakers then started missing again and did not play good enough defense on the Warriors who were able to push their lead to 10. LA could not contain the Warriors who seemed to be making every shot they took.
A transition three by Cam Reddish was a welcomed sight and helped LA close to within five. As soon as it seemed the Lakers were making a nice push, Golden State once again went on a run and led by 13 to end the quarter.
The Warriors extended their run from the third quarter to 13-2 to start the final frame. The lineup that was out there for LA was incredibly sloppy and all over the place. The lead for Golden State extended to 18.
The only two starters playing for LA in the fourth were D’Lo and Rui and they anchored the young Lakers with them to make it a 14-point game. Bronny James converted a layup that excited the crowd who were cheering him on.
The rest of the quarter was quickly turning into garbage time as all the Lakers starters went to the bench and it was up to the young players to do something. Knecht was lighting it up for LA to end the game, but the Warriors were unstoppable.
Key Takeaways:
AD is in prime season form. He did a little bit of everything in tonight’s game that we’ve become accustomed to seeing AD do.
The Lakers lost the rebound battle, but they looked much better than usual. We’ve been used to seeing them fall asleep instead of grabbing a rebound, but they’ve looked much more engaged in this preseason.
Bronny has a lot of nerves and it’s obvious when he shoots the ball, as the season progresses and he continues to get his reps, he’ll feel more comfortable.
The Lakers’ next preseason game is Thursday against the Phoenix Suns at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
