LOS ANGELES-- The Lakers went back to Crypto.com Arena for Game 3 of their second-round playoff series versus the Golden State Warriors, once again kept in the warm welcome of their fans. They went back to the place and the style of play they're most comfy and familiar with in the playoffs.
The Lakers leaned on their biggest, greatest and most experienced players, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, to win the fight of contrasting styles and take a 127-97 victory from the Warriors on Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Their best gamers were their best players when it mattered most.
After playing a loose game in their loss to the Warriors in Game 2 on Thursday, the Lakers regained the physical design of play that brought them past the
Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs and allowed them to swipe Game 1 from the Warriors on Tuesday in
San Francisco.
Upon their return house, buoyed by a sellout crowd of 18,997, the Lakers built a double-digit lead by halftime and never recalled. Davis and James led a third-quarter surge that turned Game 2 into a runaway triumph after the Lakers had been beaten, 127-100, in Game 2.
The Lakers wanted to get Davis going early, pay closer attention to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on the perimeter and avoid a repeat of the protective disappointments that resulted in back-to-back 40-plus point quarters in their blowout loss to the Warriors in Game 2 in
San Francisco.
By halftime, the Lakers were halfway to meeting their goals. The Lakers led 59-48 after a half in which each team led by as lots of as 11 points and the old expression about the NBA being a video game of runs was never truer. The question was whether the 2nd half would play out.
It didn't.
Davis and James made sure the Lakers remained in front conveniently. Davis scored 25 points on 7-for-10 shooting (plus 11 of 12 totally free tosses) and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Lakers led by as numerous as 34 points in the fourth quarter.
Curry scored a team-leading 23 points for the Warriors but he was held to 3 assists after burning the Lakers for 12 in Game 2. Thompson had 15 points, one game after he scored 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting, including 8 of 11 from 3-point variety, in Game 2. The Warriors had no one to counter Davis and James, specifically after Draymond Green entered into foul difficulty.
Russell got the Lakers off and running in the early minutes, scoring 13 of their first 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point variety. Davis had the other 2 points on a pair of free tosses. The Warriors countered the Lakers' early rise with an 18-4 run to end the first quarter.
Golden State led by 40-29 after Moses Moody struck a 3-pointer. The Warriors' lead lasted just as long as it took for the Lakers to go on a 13-0 run to retake the lead, 42-40 after James made a 3-pointer with a little more than 4 minutes left in the half. The Lakers then went up 51-42 after finishing the 2nd quarter on a 30-8 run.
The Warriors countered by cutting the cause 51-48 minutes later prior to the Lakers countered with an 8-0 go to end the half. Russell had 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the half, Davis had 16 points and James had 10 points regardless of not trying a shot till well into the second quarter.
More to come on this story.
Lakers closed the first half on a 30-8 run.
They'' re up 59-48 at the break.
Reside on ABC pic.twitter.com/45GmRFzAdN.
—-- NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2023.
AD OFF THE LOB.
LAKERS LEAD GAME 3 ON ABC. pic.twitter.com/zGjWzfprPP.
—-- NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2023.
Pail. Block.
LeBron (21 PTS) doing it ALL for the Lakers in Game 3.
: Live on ABC pic.twitter.com/muMMjFmCuC.
—-- NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2023.
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