A dominant Anthony Davis, with a double-double of 30 points and 23 rebounds, led the Los Angeles Lakers’ brisk 117-112 victory in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the semifinals of the NBA west.
Looking his best at the Chase Center, Davis completed his monumental performance with five assists and four blocks, backed up by 22 points and 11 rebounds from LeBron James as the Lakers snatched home court advantage from the Warriors in the series.
The Lakers, who had to go through the play-in to gain access to the playoffs, showed their competitive growth in the series against the Memphis Grizzlies, beating the current champions on Tuesday, who came to this appointment with three fewer rest days and needed a legendary performance from Steph Curry (50 points) to take out the Sacramento Kings in game seven of that series.
Curry was again the Warriors’ leading scorer with 27 points, Klay Thompson contributed 25 and Jordan Poole, 21. The three hit six 3-pointers each and were on the verge of an epic comeback after trailing 98–112 midway through the quarter period. Curry tied the game on a 14-0 run, but the Lakers landed the finishing blow.
They did it with the backing of a 19-point D’Angelo Russell, who cut the Warriors’ series short with a basket that ended up being key to the win.
ELECTRICITY IN THE CHASE CENTER
The Chase Center staged a game of tremendous intensity, with high rhythms, spectacular plays from the start, with Thompson sealing an excellent start for the Warriors with a triple from an early 10-2.
The Warriors dealt damage with their main weapon, the 3-point shot, making thirteen in the first half, while the Lakers completely stalled from the arc (only one 3-pointer from eight in 24 minutes), but dominated in the paint by the hand of Davis.
The lynchpin, through whom much of the Lakers’ series ambitions pass, drew 23 of 32 points in the paint from some Lakers who went to the locker room with a 65-64 points lead despite the scoring fest of the outline of the warriors.
It was in the third period that the Lakers leveled up and changed their dynamic from the three-point line, connecting four of nine tries, with two from Reaves, one from LeBron and another from Troy Brown, extending the lead to ten points.
James made it 86-76 playing light with 5:15 and cleaned the paint with a great defensive block. Davis had another six rebounds and the Lakers held off the Warriors’ response, led by Thompson, to go into the fourth quarter 96–88.
There was time for a Draymond Green technical foul that confirmed the Warriors’ defensive problems, sending the Lakers to the free-throw line 20 times and shooting just five in three-quarters.
CURRY MAKES AN EPIC COMEBACK
A triple by Curry got the Warriors off to a good start in the fourth period (95-99), but the Lakers continued with high intensity. Vanderbilt sealed the Angels’ eighth shot of the night, hitting the 3-pointer to make it 108–98 with 7.28 to play, forcing Kerr’s timeout.
Schroder and LeBron gave the Lakers the maximum advantage with a jump shot at 112-98. With six minutes to play, the penalty seemed approaching, but the ‘Splash Brothers’ didn’t throw in the towel.
The Warriors sealed a devastating 14-0 run, leaving the Lakers scoreless for over four minutes, to tie the game with a great three-pointer from Curry, which also gave Poole pace from the arc.
D’Angelo Russell ended the drought and LeBron, from the free throw line, went 115-112 to the light.
Curry had the ball with less than twenty seconds but failed to score and the Lakers were able to seal the game with two Schroeder free kicks for the Finals 117–112 that gave the Lakers a memorable away win.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
