Despite a frantic finish, the Lakers fell to the Warriors on Tuesday, 119-109. After trailing by 16 in the fourth quarter, the Lakers trimmed the lead down to six but never got any closer.
Luka Dončić dominated throughout, scoring 43 points on 17-27 shooting with 12 rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves ended with 26 points and nine assists, but most of his scoring came with the Lakers down big in the fourth.
Rui Hachimura pitched in with nine points. Marcus Smart had nine points off the bench.
Deandre Ayton notched 10 points with six rebounds and a block in 33 minutes.
As a team, the Lakers shot 17-28 from the free throw line, 8-31 from the 3-point line and turned the ball over 19 times.
Both teams got off to a nice start. Luka and Reaves combined for seven of the first 11 points for LA while Jimmy Butler had seven points for the Warriors. Ayton pitched in with four points as well for the Lakers.
At the 6:42 mark, Golden State was up by one.
Los Angeles struggled with its shot and turnovers, leading to the Warriors heating up. LA did eventually have an answer, scoring four straight to make it a two-point game.
With the quarter winding down, a foul call on Smart sent Butler to the line for three free throws, which he knocked down. At the end of the first, the Warriors were up six.
Gabe Vincent opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer. Reaves scored another four points, pushing his point total to 12. The Lakers continued to struggle with turnovers, committing 13 in the half.
Smart provided a spark off the bench for LA, not just with his energy and hustle, but also by scoring five points.
Steph Curry turned on his superpowers, scoring 11 points. It didn’t matter much, though, as Los Angeles started mounting a comeback on the shoulders of Luka, who was doing his usual insane scoring.
Hachimura drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Lakers up as the half was winding down, but Brandin Podziemski knocked down a 3-pointer to stop that momentum.
Luka answered with a 3-pointer, but LA committed another foul, sending Butler to the free-throw line to close a quarter again, which put Golden State up by one at halftime.
Los Angeles couldn’t ask for a worse start to the second half, allowing Golden State to score at ease. Jonathan Kuminga ignited for eight quick points and the Warriors were on a massive 16-4 scoring run.
The only Laker who looked good out there was Luka, who scored those four points off two wild shots. Still, Golden State opened up a 13-point lead, forcing Los Angeles to call a timeout.
Out of the break, both teams missed shots until Curry converted on a layup. Things went from bad to worse, as Luka was the only Laker looking good while the rest of the team struggled.
LA was down 13 with 5:29 left until the final frame.
Reaves picked up his fifth foul, which forced him to the bench. Jake LaRavia came in and provided a small boost with five points. Golden State outscored the Lakers by 10 in the quarter and was up by 11 going into the final period.
Buddy Hield drained two 3-pointers to start this final frame, which were his fourth and fifth of the night as LA had no answer for him. The lead subsequently ballooned to 16 for the Warriors.
Six straight points from Los Angeles made it a 12-point game with 5:56 left, sparking a 9-0 scoring run to make it a six-point game as part of a patented fake comeback.
They couldn’t keep that momentum going, and the fake comeback was exactly that as Jimmy Butler kept getting to the line and the Lakers struggled to get defensive stops late.
Key Takeaways:
A new season means… turnovers! The sloppy play hurt the Lakers, allowing the Warriors to seize control multiple times throughout the game.
LA may need to consider a new starting lineup, one that includes Smart.
Do you guys think the Lakers will ever overcome their third-quarter woes? Second half woes?
The Lakers’ next matchup is Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
