LOS ANGELES — The Warriors shot it like a highlight reel compilation of their golden era to beat the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Against the Lakers, who Golden State could meet next week in a sudden death play-in game, the Warriors hit a season-high 26 3-pointers. They did it efficiently, shooting a scorching 63.4% from deep (their previous best this year was 53.1%).
That total is one shy of Golden State’s franchise record. Not too shabby for the team that forged the 3-point revolution. And that 63.4% clip, according to ESPN Stats and Info, is the best shooting night a team that attempts at least 40 triples has ever had.
“that was the game, basically,” Steve Kerr said postgame. Because I don’t feel like we played that well, but we made a million 3s. The ball was going in.”
In the 134-120 win, Steph Curry went a perfect 6-for-6 from deep, Draymond Green converted five of seven, and Klay Thompson also poured in five treys. The Warriors (44-35) hadn’t won back-to-back games in Los Angeles since 2019, when LeBron James (33 points, 11 assists) was sidelined for the second half of the season.
The victory — Golden State’s eighth in its past nine games — keeps the Warriors’ hopes at advancing up the play-in hierarchy alive. Kings and Suns losses on Tuesday muddy the crowded six-through-10 spots even more, with the Warriors inching within half a game of both the Lakers and Sacramento. The win also gives the Warriors the tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
If the Warriors and Lakers face off in the play-in round, you can throw their regular season matchups into the nearest wastebasket, Kobe style. The league’s two platinum-level franchises on the west coast simply haven’t been at full strength against each other.
James sat out one of their games. Anthony Davis left another in the first quarter after getting poked in the eye. Tuesday, Davis’ headache and nausea prevented him from suiting up.
The only matchup in which every star player played the entire game was on Jan. 27. The Lakers won that one 145-144 in double overtime. But that was several strategic chess moves and rotation tweaks ago for both teams.
There’s really not much relevant Warriors-Lakers tape from this year to learn from. They might not even meet again next week, anyway.
“It’s kind of looking that way right now,” said Steve Kerr when asked pregame about a possible Lakers play-in game. “But there’s still a lot that can happen. Again, you think about it, but you don’t go too heavily into it, because there’s no point.”
In addition to Davis’ absence, Golden State’s ridiculous shooting makes Tuesday night tough to glean much from, too. It was such an outlier, that Green registered his season-high for 3-pointers in just 16 first-half minutes. After his fifth triple, which came off a no-look, between-the-legs pass from Steph Curry, Green flexed both his arms while jogging back.
Usually, Green gets to flex after a block or steal to disrupt a 2-on-1. This time, he was 5-for-5 from 3, as hot as a Splash Brother.
The Lakers’ strategy involves sagging off Green, inviting him to take open 3-pointers. They do it more outwardly than any other team, he said. So he just had to take what they gave him.
“I just wanted to come out and not hesitate, just shoot,” Green said.
Green’s perfect outside shooting half was only part of a 15-for-22 performance from deep for Golden State. Curry, an ultra-aggressive Brandin Podziemski and Andrew Wiggins combined to go 7-for-8 from behind the arc.
But the Lakers were hot, too, chipping away at the Warriors’ 17-point lead. They brought the lead within five in the third as they closed out harder on Golden State’s shooters.
The Warriors’ bench unit, led by Chris Paul and Podziemski, finished the third quarter on a 10-0 run as James sat, pushing the Warriors’ lead to 106-89.
James returned to start the fourth quarter and spearheaded an instant 9-0 run. In the span of two minutes, Golden State’s comfortable lead was down to eight.
As soon as the momentum seemed to tilt toward James and the Lakers, Kerr called timeout and subbed Curry back in. He hit a 3 from above the break then created another for Paul with his gravity. Wiggins nailed another from the wing, as the Warriors traded threes for Laker twos and foul shots.
Gary Payton II’s corner 3 — the Warriors’ season-high 24th — his block a minute later, and Thompson’s wing 3 with 2:33 put the game out of reach. The last time Thompson, Green and Curry each sank five 3s in a game was 2015.
For as hard as the Lakers pushed them, the Warriors had enough 3-pointers in their back pocket to finish them off. And it came from their dynastic nucleus.
It’s the same core that, with three games left before the postseason, is clicking everything into place.
“We can’t worry about seeding too much, but when that time comes, we’ll all be ready,” Thompson said.
