By ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 27 points, Stephen Curry had 23 and the Golden State Warriors capitalized on Anthony Davis’ injury absence for a 134-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, April 9.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points for the 10th-place Warriors, who hit 26 of their 41 3-point attempts — including an astonishing 16 of 23 from Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green, who went 5 for 5 in the first half by himself.
Golden State’s 26 3s were the most ever allowed in a game by the Lakers.
Even after a decade as the coach of a scoring machine, Steve Kerr can still be impressed by his Big Three.
“I didn’t feel like we played that well, but we made a million 3s,” Kerr said. “The ball was going in, but I didn’t think we were sharp. A lot of possessions where we weren’t just quite locked in and we were a little bit disjointed, but the ball kept going in. … To shoot 63% from 3, that’s crazy.”
The Warriors (44-35) have won eight of nine down the stretch to move within a half-game of ninth-place Los Angeles (45-35). Golden State also won the head-to-head tiebreaker between the rivals, putting home-court advantage for a potential 9-10 play-in game next week in the Warriors’ hands over their final three regular-season games.
Green said the Warriors are “very confident” about their postseason chances after showcasing the height of their capabilities.
“We’ve kept that same sentiment all along, just about what we feel this team is capable of,” Green said. “At times this year it hasn’t always come together for us, but we feel like it’s coming together at the right time. We’ve always felt like if we get a chance, we know what it takes.”
LeBron James had 33 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who had won eight of nine before taking back-to-back home losses in the past three days. Austin Reaves added 22 points and Rui Hachimura had 20, while D’Angelo Russell struggled to 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
“We know we’re as good as any team in the league when we’re whole — and when we’re not, we’re not,” James said. “It’s hard for us to make up, especially having a guy like AD not playing. It’s almost pretty much impossible to make up for what he provides for our ballclub, both offensively and defensively.”
Davis sat out due to the aftereffects of being hit in the head by Minnesota’s Kyle Anderson in the Lakers’ loss to the Timberwolves last Sunday night. Davis took a similar blow to his left eye last month from Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Without its All-Star big man, Los Angeles couldn’t defend the Warriors effectively and missed the chance to move into eighth place past struggling Sacramento (45-34), which blew a big second-half lead and lost to Oklahoma City.
“It’s different when it’s AD out there,” Green said. “He can cover up so many mistakes. It’s a totally different look for them when he’s out there.”
Davis showed up to the Lakers’ downtown arena Tuesday, but “couldn’t overcome the headaches and nausea” caused by that blow, coach Darvin Ham said. Davis isn’t in the concussion protocol, Ham added, but he missed a key game after largely avoiding serious injuries all season for the first time in a half-decade.
Los Angeles fell to 2-4 without Davis this season, not counting two losses in which he played only the first quarter due to head blows.
James didn’t arrive until just over an hour before tipoff against the Warriors after missing that loss to the Wolves due to an apparent case of the flu. James didn’t do his usual on-court workout, but still suited up.
The Warriors played freely on offense without Davis in the middle, and Green improbably matched his total 3-pointers from his previous nine games combined and tied his career record for most 3s in one half.
The Warriors made 12 of their first 17 3-point attempts, and they went 20 of 32 in the first three quarters overall. Curry returned after taking a game off to rest with six 3-pointers without a miss, along with eight assists and seven rebounds.
“They were blazing hot — blazing, blazing hot,” Ham said. “But we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to get our bootstraps together, get back on the drawing board, look at the film and try to make the best out of these last two games.”
