Boasting their first three-game winning streak of the season, the Golden State Warriors ran into a freight train on Sunday evening in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Lakers jumped on the Warriors from the opening whistle at Staples Center, snapping their season-long winning streak in blowout fashion, 117-91.
Despite a scorching scoring run in February, Steph Curry capped off the month with only 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 from long distance. Shooting 40.7% from the floor, only two other Warriors managed to surpass double-figures in scoring against the Lakers.
Behind a monster first half and a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field in 24 minutes from LeBron James, the Lakers cruised to a blowout win over their Northern California rival.
Following an ugly loss to the Lakers, the Warriors will get two days off before a road back-to-back to end the first half of the season. The end of Golden State’s three-game road swing will feature battles with a pair of playoff contenders, the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.
Draymond Green
After tallying an impressive career-high with 19 assists against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, Draymond Green’s follow-up performance was cut short. After scoring six points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field with two dimes, Green appeared to roll his ankle while defending a fast break.
Coming out of halftime, the former Defensive Player of the Year was ruled out for the contest with a sprained left ankle. Green will have two days off to rest his ankle before Golden State returns to the floor on Wednesday against the Blazers.
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Ugly Start
It didn’t take the Lakers long to build a nearly insurmountable lead against the Warriors on Sunday night. LeBron James recorded 15 of his 19 total points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting with two boards, two steals and an assist in 17 minutes.
As the Lakers built a commanding lead, the Warriors struggled to answer. As a team, Golden State couldn’t get into any rhythm from outside, shooting only 4-of-17 from deep in the first half. Along with poor shooting, the Warriors couldn’t corral a rebound against the Lakers. In the opening two quarters, Los Angeles outrebounded the Warriors 30-17.
Heading into halftime, the Lakers managed a 73-44 advantage over the Warriors.
Cleaning the glass
Despite Kevon Looney and James Wiseman’s return to the lineup, the Golden State Warriors were dominated on the glass at Staples Center. As Kyle Kuzma recorded a game-high 11 rebounds, the Lakers had eight different players notch four or more boards on Sunday night.
For the Warriors, Wiseman led the team with eight boards. Only four other Warriors surpassed four or more rebounds against the Lakers. After the final buzzer, the Lakers totaled 70 rebounds to the Warriors’ 44.
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