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Bell’s career night, Warriors’ late surge crushes Lakers’ comeback bid

By

Kerry Crowley

/

Game one: Overtime.

Game two: Overtime.

Game three: It only lasted 48 minutes, but it had all the flair and drama of a classic thriller.

After needing an extra period to take down the Los Angeles Lakers in each of their first two matchups this season, the Golden State Warriors extended their win streak to 10 games after a late surge in a back-and-forth affair against their Southern California foes in a 113-106 victory on Friday night. After leading by as many as 23 points on Friday, the Warriors found themselves trailing by two points in the fourth quarter before a 6-0 run inside of three minutes helped Golden State pull away.

Though the Warriors rolled off five straight wins without the services of Draymond Green, who was sidelined for the better part of two weeks with a shoulder injury, Green returned to action against the Lakers and turned in a strong all-around effort to help Golden State initially break away in the middle of the third quarter. While the anticipation surrounding Friday’s matchup had plenty to do with Green’s presence, it was the Warriors’ baby version of Green, rookie Jordan Bell, who helped steal the show early.

With Zaza Pachulia sidelined due an ailing shoulder, Green and Bell started alongside each other for the first time this season. Throughout the first half, Oracle Arena was treated to several highlight-reel plays from Bell including a put-back layup off a Kevon Looney free throw miss and this Eurostep (travel?) that led to a fast break bucket. Bell finished the night with a career-high 20 points, and secured his first 20-10 performance in the win.

With point guard Steph Curry sitting out his seventh straight matchup thanks to an ankle injury, the Warriors were forced to make due without their top three-point presence. In the early going, Kevin Durant knocked down a deep three, while Klay Thompson added another triple on a second quarter push that highlighted the Warriors’ ability to space the floor.

With an early push from beyond the arc, Golden State opened up a 17-point halftime advantage and neutralized some of the offensive success Los Angeles was able to find in the teams’ first two matchups. After a late string of three-pointers from Curry helped the Warriors to their first overtime victory over the Lakers, a throwback 36-point performance from Durant lifted Golden State to a win in the second matchup which took place on Monday night. This time around, a slow start from Lakers’ forward Brandon Ingram gave the Warriors an edge, and a solid effort from Golden State’s starting five helped the team create a gap.

Though Los Angeles trimmed Golden State’s advantage to just 12 points at the end of the third quarter, the Lakers had a chance to do more damage as the Warriors essentially went into cruise control mode. A three-pointer from Kyle Kuzma helped Los Angeles cut the deficit to 11 points and a Lonzo Ball layup brought the game within single digits, but the Warriors responded with a quick 5-0 run sparked by a Durant and-one opportunity and an Omri Casspi cut-and-dunk helped Golden State up the ante to 14.

That cushion, it turns out, would be critical for Golden State, as Kuzma went on a tear to start the fourth quarter. The Utah product became the first Lakers’ player to score 25 points in three consecutive games since Jerry West did so in 1961 and played a critical role in helping Los Angeles overcome a 23-point deficit to take the lead with just under eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

After taking a punch to the mouth, it was Warriors’ guard Patrick McCaw who responded with three aggressive takes to the rim in the game’s next three minutes, converting a pair of layups and then earning a trip to the free throw line where he sank one of two to push Golden State back ahead by four.

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