Los Angeles Lakers Tear Down Golden State Warriors, 120-94

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t allow Golden State Warriors any hope for some sensation at Staples tonight. The purple and gold were ruthless against the injury-plagued Western Conference champs, posting a 120-94 victory. It was a second blowout the LAL handed the Warriors including the one during the preseason. By the way, the home team played without Anthony Davis, who rested due to his shoulder injury.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had one like that,” said Frank Vogel about the convincing win of his side.

LeBron and the boys took the wheel right from the start, getting away from the guests in the middle of the opening period. King James scored 6 points in Lakers’ 12-0 rush, which pulled them to 29-15, and from that moment on, the hosts were just increasing that edge. The only time when guests threatened was in the late part of the second, coming down to 58-51, but the home team quickly resolved that situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkb27u8hEvE

The biggest lead Lakers had was 27 points, and it was 2:50 before the end, with both sides scoring just 3 points combined since then.

“It’s almost impossible to win in this league when you can’t count on getting three stops in a row…For years, that’s been a mantra. I’m not sure we did that once tonight,” said Steve Kerr after the game.

For Draymond Green, the biggest problem among the Warriors was the communication, and not only in this game, but since the start of the season.

“Communication…Most guys in general, struggle with communication.It’s kind implify when you’re dealing with younger guys,” he said.

The Warriors were inferior in almost every aspect of the game. They had just 33 rebounds, allowing the rivals to have 51. Meanwhile, when looking at the shooting percentage, Golden State was 9 for 35 from downtown, a lousy 25.7%. D’Angelo Russell was 0 for 4, Eric Paschall the same, while Jordan Poole fired 12 attempts and made only 3.

On the other side, the Lakers didn’t shoot too much behind the three-point line, 9 for 20. They were tearing apart the guests from under the rim, where they outscored Steve Kerr’s side 64-36. Many believed that the purple and gold might experience some trouble because Davis wasn’t going to play, yet that turned out as a wrong assumption. JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard controlled everything on both sides of the court.

McGee had 18 points and 17 boards, along with 3 steals and rejections, terrorizing the rivals. Howard came off the bench to score 15 points and pick 8 boards, missing two shots from the field and only one free throw.

“We played great defense today and it showed on offense,” said McGee. “we got some fastbreak points, we were driving, we were getting to the paint, and getting great shots, so we had a good game.”

LeBron had a double-double with 23 buckets and 12 assists, while Kyle Kuzma showed signs of getting back to his old shape, with 22 points, 7 for 12 from the field. When asked how he recovered from the previous game so fast, LBJ revealed the secret.

“Because we don’t have shootarounds. I get to sleep in.”

✨ @KingJames (23 PTS, 12 AST) and @kylekuzma (22 PTS) lead the @Lakers to victory! pic.twitter.com/xxhmkNic20

— NBA (@NBA) November 14, 2019

For the Warriors, Russell scored a team-high as usual, 21 points. D-Lo added 8 assists to that too. Paschall had 15 off the bench, Poole 11, while Willie Cauley-Stein and Green had 10 each.

The Warriors (2-10), who are the worst team in the league, are hosting the Boston Celtics on Friday. After that, they have a four-game tour where they visit Pelicans, Grizzlies, Mavs and the Jazz.

LeBron and the Lakers (9-2) are leading the way in the West, and have a three-game homestand over the next few days. The fired-up Sacramento Kings are coming on Friday, then the Atlanta Hawks, and finally OKC Thunder.