Lakers blow 25-point lead, lose 112-95 at Golden State. That is the short version of Friday night at Chase Center. Luka Doncic scored 21 points in the first quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers led the Golden State Warriors 40-15 early in the second, and they still lost 112-95. Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Golden State won the second quarter 38-15 and then pulled away after halftime. It was the NBA Cup group opener for both teams, and the Lakers fall to 4-2. The Warriors are 3-3 after an 0-3 start.
How the 25-point lead disappeared
Doncic went 7-for-12 with five 3-pointers in the first quarter, adding five assists and two steals, and Los Angeles led 38-15 after one. Austin Reaves’ two free throws to open the second made it 40-15, the largest lead.
With Doncic on the bench to start the second, the Lakers turned the ball over, and Golden State’s reserves started hitting threes. JJ Redick put it simply afterward: “The start of the second quarter, it was a bad way to start the quarter just in terms of the turnovers.” The Warriors won the quarter by the same 38-15 score the Lakers had won the first, and it was 53-53 at halftime.
- The AP says Golden State is the first team in the shot clock era, playoffs included, to trail by 23 or more after the first quarter and be tied or ahead at halftime.
- ESPN’s report says the Warriors are the first team in the past 30 seasons to trail by 25 and win by at least 17.
- Reserves De’Anthony Melton (16 points, 4-for-6 from three) and Georges Niang (11 points, 3-for-3) did much of the damage.
The third quarter and an 18-0 run
The Lakers did punch back after halftime. Doncic, Reaves and Jake LaRavia helped rebuild a nine-point lead in the third quarter, and Los Angeles still led 80-78 with 1:28 left in the period. After that, they didn’t score for 5 minutes and 34 seconds of game time.
Brandin Podziemski hit a three to give Golden State its first lead of the night with 51.1 seconds left in the third. Doncic was called for a technical foul with 21.8 seconds left, right after LaRavia was called for an offensive foul, and the Warriors led 85-80 after three quarters. They scored the first 11 points of the fourth. Curry hit a stepback three and a pull-up jumper, Matisse Thybulle got a technical with 8:02 left, and Walker Kessler finally ended the drought with a free throw at 7:54. By then it was 96-81. Golden State’s run was 18-0 in all.
The Lakers scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, the same as in the second.
Stephen Curry vs. Luka Doncic
Curry finished with 31 points on 11-for-23 shooting, 8-for-14 from three, along with six assists, four rebounds and a +19. In the fourth quarter he passed Dominique Wilkins (26,668 points) for 18th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, according to the AP. The play everyone will remember came in the third quarter: Golden State kept screening to get Doncic switched onto him, and Curry’s dribble moves sent Doncic stumbling to the floor, and Curry hit a three over him. He told Amazon Prime’s postgame show he “didn’t expect it to get that nasty.”
Doncic still put up 37 points, seven rebounds and five assists in his first game back after missing Wednesday’s win over the Clippers, and he finished +9. He shot 12-for-27 overall and 6-for-16 from three. After his 21-point first quarter, he scored 16 more over the last three. “Everybody gotta be better than this,” Doncic said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “You’re up 25, 23, first (half). Then I gotta be better and we just gotta win those together.”
Turnovers, technicals and a thin bench
- 22 turnovers. The Lakers gave the ball away 22 times, and Golden State scored 27 points off them. Reaves had eight on his own. He still scored 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting, but went 1-for-6 from three and finished -13. “Got to figure the turnover thing out,” Redick said.
- Four technicals. Sandro Mamukelashvili got a defensive three-seconds technical and Jarred Vanderbilt got a flopping technical, both in the first quarter. Doncic and Thybulle got the other two in the second half. Golden State made three of the four technical free throws. On the flopping calls, Redick said, “The consistency, we’re just still searching.”
- Seven bench points. The Lakers’ reserves scored seven points. Golden State’s scored 50. Collin Sexton went 0-for-6 in 16 minutes and finished -19, Mamukelashvili was -23, and Quentin Grimes scored three points in 26 minutes.
- Three-point gap. Golden State made 22 of 46 threes (48%). The Lakers made 11 of 39 (28%), and Doncic hit six of those 11.
On the positive side, Kessler had 10 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, Los Angeles blocked 11 shots as a team, and Thybulle had 10 points and three steals. LaRavia also scored 10.
The Yaxel Lendeborg rematch
Before tipoff, most of the talk was about Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, who criticized Doncic after the opener in Los Angeles. This time he played 24 minutes, scored six points, committed five turnovers, fouled out with 2:45 left and finished -20. “Try not to wet the bed as bad as I did,” Lendeborg said when asked what lesson he would take from it, as reported by ESPN. “Them boys had my back today. Steph Curry did his thing.” Steve Kerr: “Everybody has nights like this.”
What it means for the Lakers
Redick said this is a long process for a roster with nine new players. “You don’t become a great team in six games,” he said. “We want to become a great team after 82 games and have a chance to go compete for a championship in April and May and June.”
- Injuries: Ziaire Williams missed his second straight game with left foot soreness. Redick said he was in shootaround but that the team is being “really cautious.” Adou Thiero (knee) remains out.
- NBA Cup: The Lakers are 0-1 in West Group C, which also has Golden State, San Antonio, Portland and Sacramento. Only the group winner and one wild card per conference advance to the knockout round.
- Next: The Lakers host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m. PT, then the Miami Heat on Monday.
Notes and conflicts
- When Curry’s three over Doncic came: ESPN’s play-by-play and the AP put Curry’s stepback three over Doncic at 6:22 of the third quarter. ESPN’s written story says 6:27.
- Length of the drought: The Los Angeles Times wrote that it took the Lakers “four minutes and one second” to score in the fourth quarter. The play-by-play has Kessler’s free throw at 7:54, which is 4:06 into the quarter. Counting from the third quarter, the scoreless stretch was 5:34.
- Lendeborg quote wording: ESPN quotes him as saying “Try not to wet the bed.” Another outlet has “Trying not to wet the bed.”
- Williams: ESPN lists him day-to-day. No return date has been confirmed.
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