LOS ANGELES — With Luka Doncic and Steph Curry, two of the NBA’s greatest offensive players, sidelined, it shouldn’t have been a surprise for Saturday night’s marquee matchup between the Lakers and Warriors to turn into a rock fight.
But that’s exactly what came to fruition, with both teams struggling early to find any kind of offensive rhythm, and it feeling like the first team that did would be the one to leave Crypto.com Arena with the victory.
And after a LeBron James-led offensive push in the third quarter, the Lakers were that team, leading to the Lakers beating the Warriors 105-99 to continue their strong homestand.
James, who finished with 20-point, 10-assist double-double to go with seven rebounds, had 12 points and three assists in the game-deciding third, a quarter the Lakers won 38-29.
The Lakers scored nearly as many points in the third as they did in the first half (42), shooting 63.2% in the game-deciding quarter.
With Doncic sidelined and starting center Deandre Ayton being a late scratch because of right knee soreness, Rui Hachimura stepped back into the first unit, scoring 18 points off the bench.
Austin Reaves added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while Marcus Smart recorded 15 points, four assists and two blocked shots.
Jarred Vanderbilt (13 points, eight rebounds) was a game-changer off the bench with his energetic play.
What it means
The Lakers won three consecutive games for just the second time since the end of November, and first time in a month.
They improved to 32-19 on the season, the same record as the Houston Rockets, who are No. 4 in the Western Conference standings.
Turning point
When Luke Kennard, in his Lakers debut after the team acquired him ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, knocked down a corner 3-pointer with 5:47 left to give the Lakers a 92-88 lead.
The Warriors cut their deficit from 12 late in the third to one midway through the fourth after a layup from Gary Payton II.
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But Kennard’s second 3-pointer of the game put the Lakers up by four, with the Lakers leading by at least that margin for the remainder of the game.
An underrated turning point was when Draymond Green received a technical foul during halftime, with the Warriors leading 42-41.
Reaves knocked down the free throw coming out of halftime, tying the game at 42 apiece before the second half officially started. The Warriors didn’t lead for the remainder of the game.
MVP: LeBron James
Even though he didn’t shoot efficiently from the field (6 of 17), and once again struggled with taking care of the ball (seven turnovers), James’ play in the third led the Lakers in what was a game-deciding stretch.
Saturday was James’ second consecutive points-assists double-double.
Stat of the game: 17
That’s how many more free throws the Lakers made than the Warriors, also attempting 19 more shots from the charity stripe.
Smart led the Lakers with 8-of-9 shooting on free throws. James and Reaves both went 6 of 7 from the line.
Up next
The Lakers will continue their lengthy homestand with a matchup against the league-best Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
The Thunder (40-13) have lost two straight games and are 16-11 since Dec. 18. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be sidelined through the All-Star break because of a strained abdominal muscle, while All-NBA wing Jalen Williams hasn’t played since Jan. 17 because of a strained right hamstring.
Monday will be the first night of a home back-to-back, with the Lakers hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
