The Los Angeles Lakers’ season started poorly as they were defeated by the Golden State Warriors by a score of 123-109 on Opening Night.
Lakers’ Anthony Davis DROVE PAST Kevon Looney to Score
Anthony Davis got the scoring started for the Lakers with a bold drive over Kevon Looney, but Looney quickly replied for the Warriors with an and-one play on the opposite end to give them an early lead of 5-2.
Golden State gave off the impression that they were going to steal the initiative, but Los Angeles did very well to counter and stay around early on.
After then, Davis started to take control of the game on both ends, scoring close to the basket and forcing turnovers to knot the score at 22 points each.
After the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were behind the Warriors by a score of 25-22. Jordan Poole was able to break free and keep the Warriors in the game.
LeBron James put the game into his own hands by initiating a pair of aggressive drives to start the second quarter, but the bench for the Golden State Warriors responded with a roar to increase their advantage to eight points.
Davis came back into the game and capped off a terrific feed from James when the Warriors were in transition, but the Warriors once again responded to retain their lead.
A Pair of Backdoor Cuts by Stephen Curry
After Stephen Curry broke free for a couple of backdoor cutters, Los Angeles fell by double digits, and the situation only got worse as Golden State began to heat up from the field.
Fortunately for the Lakers, they were able to go on a small run after the first, and despite shooting a dismal 3-for-21 from 3-point range, they went into halftime down by just 59-52.
The Lakers were able to alleviate some of their problems with shooting from the outside thanks to Kendrick Nunn and LeBron James, but the Warriors were able to maintain their lead because of Klay Thompson’s rapid seven points.
After then, Golden State embarked on the run that they have been famous for in the third quarter, and they quickly increased their advantage to 20 points.
After that point, things deteriorated for the Lakers, who started turning the ball over at an alarming rate and were unable to score from the field. James tried to rally his team by taking control of the offense, but Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter behind 91-7 1.
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to regain some of their momentum after a string of consecutive defensive stops, which was rounded off by two straight baskets scored by LeBron James.
Finishing Line
Even though they were still down by 15 points halfway through the third quarter, the Lakers did a terrific job of keeping things close. Even when Westbrook exploded in the lane with a huge dunk, Curry seized total control of the game to hold the Lakers at bay.
The Los Angeles Lakers would open the new season with a defeat because head coach Darvin Ham decided to play all of his starters despite the team being down by a significant margin.
