LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Lakers are now over 20 games out of first place in the Western Conference.
Stephen Curry accidentally sent James to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with three foul shots. But James missed the first and third attempts at the stripe, allowing Golden State to bask in confetti floating down from the Chase Center rafters.
Klay Thompson erupted for 16 fourth-quarter points, including three 3-pointers, and the Warriors (42-15) held off the flailing Lakers, 117-115. Thompson led the Warriors with 33 points, while rookie Jonathan Kuminga starred for the first three quarters while mostly guarding James (26 points on 27 shots).
Frank Vogel said his team has a new energy after their quiet trade deadline. But LA has now lost three straight games and sits in ninth place in the West.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ win:
The Jonathan Kuminga Game
From afar, it didn’t look like it was lost on Jonathan Kuminga that he was sharing the court with LeBron James.
Kuminga didn’t play in the Warriors-Lakers Vol. 1, so this was the first time the rookie squared off against the game’s all-time leader in points (playoffs included).
James, in his 19th season, matched up with Kuminga, 19, quite frequently. With Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala sidelined, Kuminga was James’ primary defender.
In the first quarter, James canned a 3 over Kuminga, resulting in a Warriors timeout. Walking back to the bench, Kuminga clapped his hands in frustration.
Toward the end of the first half, Kuminga crashed hard from the weak-side, shedding a half-hearted James box-out attempt and flying over him for a tip-in bucket.
Kuminga mostly played a great game. He had one of his strongest rebounding performances of his career. Offensively, he timed his off-ball cuts well to lead to uncontested jams; his shot chart featured almost exclusively attempts in the paint.
But he wasn’t perfect, as no rookie is. One 12-second sequence encapsulated The Jonathan Kuminga Experience as well as anything. He dribbled toward Curry for a dribble handoff, but turned it over with a bad pass as the guard changed the trajectory of his cut. But Kuminga didn’t give up on the play. He raced back and challenged Talen Horton-Tucker at the rim, forcing a miss. And then he beat Horton-Tucker back down the court, finishing an acrobatic layup on the other end.
Kuminga’s still learning. He’s going to make mistakes. But — at least at the NBA level — he plays with a strong motor and his almost unbelievable athleticism often covers up for normal rookie misgivings.
And against the Lakers, he played arguably the best game of his young career, scoring 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting and hauling in nine boards in 25 minutes.
Lakers brought the Show with them
Any time the Lakers come to town, “there’s always a little electricity,” Kerr said pregame.
That’s certainly more true when LeBron James is involved. The main heel of the Warriors dynasty elevates the stakes of a regular season game. It’s more than just the Lakers’ classic yellow and gold Showtime threads.
Kerr and Klay Thompson grew up in the Los Angeles area, and Kevon Looney went to UCLA. The matchup means just a bit more to them.
It means more to the fans, too. The Chase Center atmosphere reflected that. A significant amount of LeBron fans cheered as loud for his buckets as they did any time a Warriors rose up to shoot a shot over the four-time MVP — but not nearly as loudly as when James committed a late loose ball foul off a mad scramble for a missed free throw.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler sat courtside with a glass of whiskey, and 49ers quarterback Trey Lance took in the game next to Warriors owner Joe Lacob.
The primetime ABC game felt like more than a mid-February tilt. All the stars came out, the Chase Center rocked and the game rose to the hype.
Glass cleaner
The Warriors spent much of their Saturday walkthrough focusing on rebounding, GSW coach Steve Kerr told reporters pregame. How could they not, after the past three games?
In Golden State’s past three contests, including losses to Utah and New York, opponents out-rebounded the Warriors 153 to 113. Included in that is a 49 to 14 disparity on the offensive glass.
Hassan Whiteside and Udoka Azubuike manhandled the Warriors’ bigs. Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle were schoolyard bullies. Kevon Looney, the lone healthy center on the roster, looked gassed amid his quest to play all 82 games. Players flanked around him got caught ball-watching instead of boxing out.
But the Warriors were the aggressors against Los Angeles. LA isn’t a particularly tough offensive rebounding team as it now plays Anthony Davis almost exclusively without another big next to him. Still, Kuminga led an offensive on the offensive glass and other wings chipped in with box outs to finish possessions.
Klay Thompson’s game-tying long two from the corner with 5:49 left came off a terrific Looney offensive rebound and kickout. Two Otto Porter Jr. offensive rebounds later also led to Thompson 3s. In all, the Warriors scored 21 second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds. In all, Golden State won the rebounding battle, 51 to 47, a key to holding off LA.
