Over the past several years, LeBron James versus Stephen Curry has been one of the best marquee matchups the NBA has had to offer. On Saturday evening, these two all-time greats and their respective teams — the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors — met up in San Francisco for a midseason contest that would turn into an instant classic, not to mention a major test of endurance.
The Warriors were somewhat hot to start the game, but the Lakers were able to take a modest early lead behind their fast break. The Lakers had 15 fast-break points in the first quarter, and they rode that momentum to a 68-63 lead at halftime.
Los Angeles fell behind by 15 points midway through the third period, but it then scored 14 unanswered points, only to fall behind by eight points at the end of the quarter. Down the stretch, with the game on the line, the Purple and Gold scored 12 unanswered points to retake the lead, but Stephen Curry got past Anthony Davis off the dribble to score the basket that tied the game at 118-all and forced overtime. There, they went ahead by four before 3-pointers by Curry and Klay Thompson forced a second extra session.
In the second overtime, both teams traded haymakers once again. It seemed like the team that got off the last real shot attempt would win, and in the end, the Lakers survived, 145-144.
This was a gut-check game for the Purple and Gold against the team they knocked out of the Western Conference semifinals last spring. Both teams were understandably tired down the stretch, but it didn’t affect the quality of play, and L.A. rose to the occasion under pressure for one of the few times this season.
It had to outlast a vintage 46-point outing from Curry in order to get its 24th win over the season and move to one game over .500. While the Lakers got outscored by 42 points in 3-pointers, they had a big advantage at the free throw line — they went 38-of-43 from the foul line while Golden State was 11-of-16.