The Golden State Warriors kicked off NBA Cup group play in dramatic fashion on Friday night, and just so happened to get some payback in the process. After losing handily on opening night just nine days ago, against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dubs hosted that same purple and gold squad. And after playing a Halloween prank on their SoCal foes — by gifting them a lead and then snatching it away from them — the Warriors head into the weekend with a three-game winning streak.
And they sure made it theatrical.
The Warriors could not have played worse to start the game, and trailed by 25 points in the second quarter. And yet, somehow, despite that, they not only won, but won by 17 points, 112-95.
The game was billed as a rematch between Luka Dončić and Yaxel Lendeborg and, well … let’s just say it’s a good thing that basketball is a team sport, because the six-time All-Star certainly got the better of the rookie in this game.
Then again, Dončić got the better of everyone to start the game. The Warriors opened up the game with a layup, and then it was all LA. After that opening bucket, the Lakers rattled off 14 unanswered points and, if we’re being frank, made Golden State look like a JV squad. It was simply a case of two teams playing at completely different levels, like when you see an SEC powerhouse kick off their football schedule by hosting McWallaby State. The Warriors turned the ball over on every possession, which is only a mildly hyperbolic statement, and the Lakers just kept converting them into points.
Finally the Warriors showed a little life, with a pair of threes from Steph Curry, and then another pair from Georges Niang when he come off the bench. That, plus a defensive burst from Gary Payton II, helped the Dubs start to cut into the lead.
But then Dončić re-emerged. After all the trash talk from the prior week, Luka was having way too much fun dissecting the Warriors.
When the quarter ended, the Warriors found themselves in an ugly spot: not only had Dončić outscored the Warriors all by himself, but his teammates had, too. Yes, after the opening quarter, Luka had 21 points, and the Lakers led 38-15, completely silencing the Chase Center. Perhaps most shocking of all, though, was that the Dubs had committed 10 turnovers in the 12-minute quarter. That’s hard to do!
The Lakers quickly scored to open the second quarter, pushing the lead to a morosely comical 40-15. No one would blame you if you admit to turning off the game at that point, and finding something else to do with your Friday night.
But if you did turn off the game, you missed what followed after that 40-15 Los Angeles advantage: a 95-55 Warriors advantage the rest of the way.
It started with De’Anthony Melton, who led a serious surge off the bench. After that opening bucket by LA, Melton scored seven straight points on his own, while playing stellar defense. With. Dončić on the bench, the Lakers’ offense couldn’t find any traction, and suddenly they started making all the sloppy plays. Melton’s burst gave way to a Niang three, which led to a JJ Redick timeout, which was rudely met by a Curry three when the game resumed, capping a 13-0 Golden State run.
They weren’t done yet, though. After a few chaotic possessions by both teams, the Warriors pulled off what felt like it would be the play of the game: on one end, Charles Bassey had the most emphatic block of Golden State’s season, and it led to a fast break; on the other end, Melton found Lendeborg for a 25-foot alley-oop, sending the Chase Center into a frenzy as the run became 18-2, and the Warriors had made it a single-digit game.
While the offense was getting the attention, the run was really prompted by a stunning defensive effort, which was led by Melton, Bassey, and Will Richard, among others. Each of them seemed to have a defensive highlight on every single possession.
Dončić re-entered the game to stop the bleeding, and helped the Lakers go on a little run of their own to restore order, but the tide had shifted in the game. The Warriors led the Lakers have their little run, then went right back into shutdown mode, forcing turnover after turnover and, behind a flurry from Curry, exploding for another 10-0 run.
To put the cap on a nearly perfect second quarter, Brandin Podziemski sank a three to tie the game with 5.5 seconds remaining, then stole LA’s ensuing possession, ensuring they wouldn’t get a shot off.
After losing the first quarter 38-15, the Warriors had perfectly flipped that score in the second quarter, and the game was tied 53-53. And needless to say, Golden State had all of the momentum.
The Warriors had some luck in the first half playing with a bigger lineup, and so Steve Kerr opened the second half with some size, replacing Gui Santos with Al Horford in the starting lineup. But no lineup was going to stop a motivated Lakers team, and LA scored the first six points of the half, and quickly built the lead back to nine points. Instead of Dončić, this time it was Austin Reaves leading the show.
By now, the game had turned into pure theater. And the theater is built for star entertainment. And so, after Reaves and a few Warriors had their moments to open the half, the game turned to the main attractions: Curry and Dončić.
The two superstars went at each other, trading highlight bucket for highlight bucket. Even though they were directly matched up, they kept ending up defending each other after switching on screens, and you could tell that each player was relishing the moment. But the Warriors were playing from behind, so they needed more out of Curry than the Lakers needed out of Dončić, and The Chef didn’t disappoint.
I said early that the Bassey block/Lendeborg alley-oop felt, at the time, like the highlight of the game … and I said “at the time,” because that feeling wouldn’t last long. About midway through the third, Luka ended up on Curry island, and Steph hit all the buttons on the controller, dug deep in his bag, and broke both of Dončić‘s ankles, before sinking a three while his opponent helplessly watched, splayed across the hardwood.
In a career built by highlights, Curry — who passed Dominique Wilkins to become the 18th-highest scorer in NBA history — will have that one playing on his reel for decades to come.
Dončić, ever the star counterpart, was unfazed, and returned fire with a three of his own on the very next possession. But Curry’s ridiculous play had brought life to the building, and they parlayed that into another run — even though Steph was resting now — outscoring LA 12-4 to tie the game with just under two minutes left in the game.
And then, at last, they got over the hump, with an outrageous sequence to end the quarter: at the 51-second mark, Podziemski made a three, giving them an 82-80 advantage … their first lead of the game since 2-0. Podziemski, who was starting to take over, then stole a pass from Quentin Grimes, got out in transition, drew a foul, and sank both free throws. After the Warriors forced a turnover on a Jake LaRavia offensive foul, Dončić’s frustration boiled over, resulting in a technical foul, with Brandon Williams making the free throw.
The Warriors, despite trailing by eight points when Curry went to the bench for the final few minutes of the quarter, ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, and led 85-80 going into the fourth quarter.
That 7-0 run turned into a 9-0 run when Podziemski opened the fourth with an excellent cut, where he caught a Draymond Green dime and laid it in. It turned into a 12-0 run when Podz drained a three, pushing the lead to double digits, and prompting a Redick timeout. It turned into a 14-0 run when Curry popped a mid-range jumper, and a 17-0 run when Curry drained a triple, and an 18-0 run when Curry made a technical free throw.
When the damage was complete, the Warriors led by 16 points, and the Lakers had gone more than four minutes of the fourth quarter without having scored.
Once again, the run had occurred with Dončić on the bench, and Redick brought him in for one last grasp. He and Curry once again went at each other and each put on quite a show, before Steph headed to the bench with just over six minutes remaining, and the Dubs leading by 15.
The Warriors were again able to hold the lead with their star on the bench, and if they can continue to do that, there’s no telling how good they’ll be. Curry sat for over three minutes, and returned to the court with a 13-point lead. From there, it was just a matter of getting a few stops, and get a few stops they did. With the NBA Cup using point differential as a tiebreaker, the Warriors kept playing to the final whistle, even though both teams had subbed in the back of their benches. Santos made an almost buzzer-beating layup to end the game, giving the Warriors a stunning 112-95 victory.
After allowing 38 points in the first quarter, the Warriors had buckled in their defense, and allowed just 57 points the rest of the way.
Curry led the Warriors with 31 points, four rebounds, and six assists, while shooting 11-for-23 from the field, and 8-for-14 from deep. Podziemski had a star performance, particularly in the second half, and ended with an efficient 21 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block.
But the real star for Golden State was the bench. Melton (who finished with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals) and Richard were absolute heroes off the pine, while Bassey, Horford, Williams, and Payton all changed the game for the better. Golden State had 50 bench points and only allowed seven, an astonishing ratio that is a testament to both the bench unit’s offense and defense.
Dončić, meanwhile, finished with 37 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and certainly got the better of his matchup with Lendeborg (though they weren’t all that frequently matched up), as Golden State’s rookie had the worst game of his young career, with six points, one rebound, five turnovers, and six fouls. But all that matters is that Golden State got the better of Los Angeles.
With the win, the Warriors now have a very impressive three-game winning streak, as this victory was stacked on top of road wins over the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Dubs now get Halloween off to root for the Valkyries, before returning to action on Sunday night, when they host the LA Clippers.
