Lakers clinging to ninth place in West after loss to Warriors
In the months before, the frailty of the NBA season seems more abstract, each game representing an equal 1.2% slice of the season. When you’re in the grind of it, the tomorrows eclipse any real finality.
Until the end gets here — and then, for most, all you’re left with is “if only.”
If only the Lakers had been sharper out of the in-season tournament, if only it hadn’t taken so long to find their shooting stroke, if only they had held tighter onto the rope against Brooklyn and Sacramento.
If only they’d been a little luckier, a little better.
If only they had more time.
With the end of the season barreling toward them, the Lakers played what could end be their final home game, losing a key game for postseason positioning 134-120 to Golden State.
Anthony Davis makes an early exit after sustaining another eye injury as the Lakers, already without LeBron James, lose ground in the West playoff race.
The Lakers (45-35) lead the Warriors by half a game for ninth in the West and are tied with 35 losses, with Golden State owning the season tiebreaker. The Lakers finish the season in Memphis and New Orleans this weekend, their postseason fate largely out of their hands.
The Lakers were in great position Saturday after beating Cleveland, moving into eighth and owning momentum to spare. So they thought. After the game, LeBron James complained about an illness that would sideline him Sunday against Minnesota. And any chance they had against the Timberwolves ended in the first quarter when Anthony Davis left the game after being hit in the face.
Before Tuesday’s game, there was plenty of suspense. It started with word that Davis wouldn’t be able to play because of headaches and nausea. It continued when players in the locker room said they hadn’t even seen James at the arena, unsure of whether or not he’d play.
James upgraded to available at the last moment before the Lakers needed to submit their starters. He scored 33 points in 35 minutes to go with 11 assists and seven rebounds.
“Just tried to get as much rest as I could. Stay hydrated as much as I could, man. Give my team as much as I could today,” James said. “I came in Sunday for my normal prep day for the Minnesota game and it started to get worse as the minutes went down. So I just went home. And pretty much today was like one of the first days I was able to get out of the room, get out of the bed and feel a little bit of energy.”
He gave the Lakers a quick boost, but nothing compared to the execution the Warriors delivered, the team hammering the Lakers with a barrage of threes from all angles, 26 in all.
Draymond Green made five in the first half and rookie Brandin Podziemski canned three straight, all while Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ most dangerous weapon, patiently dissected the Lakers’ Davis-less defense.
Green had made six threes in the last month of games before Tuesday. After the game, the Lakers acknowledged that funneling the ball toward Green was a part of their plan.
Curry made all six of his threes. He scored 23 on just nine attempts with eight assists and seven rebounds.
“They had guys step up and make shots,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It’s a make-or-miss league, and it is what it is. It’s a tough loss for sure. They put a lot of pressure on your defense, not having AD back there as just our conductor, just communicating and moving around, obviously very, very tough, but you know, we came into the game and feel comfortable with our game plan and for the most part, you know the majority of the game we executed it.”
The Warriors became the first team to make 26 or more threes while shooting 63.4% or better.
“Historic,” Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie said.
The Lakers, though, grinded their way back from 17 points down to get within five in the third quarter and within nine early in the fourth, with a chance to cut it to six. But like it was all night, their shot-making wasn’t as good as that of Golden State, the Warriors issuing death by a thousand swishes.
The game underscored why the Lakers have been so desperately trying to push out of the No. 9-10 play-in game — a single-elimination game that, especially now, could end up being played on the Warriors’ home court.
And when you consider the speed in which they can turn a game — Golden State scored 10 straight in the final 83 seconds of the third — they’re one of the last teams anyone wants to see in an elimination game.
The Lakers got some help around the league, with Sacramento blowing a big lead in its loss at Oklahoma City and the Clippers hanging on to win in Phoenix.
They’re going to need more of it — the Lakers’ playoff hopes shaky after a second straight loss.
“We’ll figure out the scenarios as we keep going,” Dinwiddie said. “But we know we need to win. Not keep losing.”
If only it could’ve been different.
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