Coming into this contest, many expected the Los Angeles Lakers to not have much of a chance against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles was once again without LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell, while the Warriors, who had a five-game winning streak, welcomed Stephen Curry back from a lower leg injury.
But the Lakers shocked everyone by leaping to a 32-12 first-quarter lead. The Warriors fought back, making it a one-point affair at halftime, but Anthony Davis and crew regained the lead early in the third period and consistently remained one step ahead.
It resulted in an impressive and unexpected 113-105 victory for L.A.
The win puts the Lakers into 11th place in the Western Conference, half a game out of 10th place and 2.5 games behind the sixth-place Minnesota Timberwolves. They’re 6-3 since the players they acquired in the Russell Westbrook trade first debuted.