Lyou Golden State Warriors from Stephen Curry, who got a triple-double, knocked down this Tuesday Los angeles lakers (114-121), who in the first game of their very veteran and risky project for this season showed that they still have a long way to go to be a solid and compact team.
Russell Westbrook y Carmelo Anthony debuted with the purple and gold franchise, but the kings in the Lakers were the same as always: LeBron James (34 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists) and Anthony Davis (33 points and 11 rebounds).
Between the two they added 77 points while the rest of the Lakers players achieved a poor boot of 37 points. The new signings of these Lakers full of experienced players left a very uneven balance.
Kent Bazemore stood out in defense, but Russell Westbrook It was seen very past revolutions (8 points, with 4 of 13 in shots, and 4 losses) and Carmelo Anthony it offered only a few isolated flashes (9 points, 3 of 9).
Faced with the washed-out local complex, the Warriors -todava sin Klay Thompson- They boasted of a generous, collective style and with all its members at a remarkable level.
A single Curry in five wings
Curry logr a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists though he didn’t have a particularly bright night in shooting (5 of 21).
Fortunately he had the backing of bodyguards like Jordan Poole (20 points) or Nemanja Bjelica and Damion Lee (both with 15 points).
Six Warriors players scored more than 10 points and only one of the twelve team members (Gary Payton II, with 7 seconds on the court) left the Staples Center in Los Angeles (USA) without scoring.
This match, a rematch of last year’s “play-in” with which the Lakers qualified for the playoffs, was together with the Milwaukee Bucks against Brooklyn Nets one of the two chosen by the NBA to uncork their 2021-2022 season.
The Lakers stadium presented a great atmosphere and among the public it had figures from the show such as Jack Nicholson, Adele or Justin Bieber.
TO THE RHYTHM OF JAMES AND DAVIS
Between the losses of the ball and the typical mistakes of the first game of the course, LeBron James and Anthony Davis tried to set the pace from the beginning.
With 6 points per head, the top two references for the Angelenos boosted their team with a strong start in attack and lacks in defense (14-12 with 6.51 missing).
In the middle of the first quarter, Carmelo Anthony entered, who got a huge applause from the fans and who on his first play fouled in attack.
Frank Vogel’s advantage extended somewhat with the incombustible Rajon Rondo at the helm, but the defensive laziness of the bench tied a fantastic first quarter (34-32) by James (10 points without failure) and Davis (dominating in the zone with 14 points). ).
Curry did not show signs of life, but the Warriors knew how to take refuge in secondary actors such as Nemanja Bjelica or Andre Iguodala to balance the game in the face of the Lakers’ lack of decision (41-41 with 7.49 in the second quarter).
Even so, James and Davis continued to do their thing, which was to crush the Warriors’ rim, and the Lakers went into halftime with a short lead (59-53) after a first half of alternatives, a bit crazy and without clear dominance nowhere.
REACTION OF THE WARRIORS
In the third quarter the Warriors came out to bite.
A 2-8 partial starting the match again (61-61 with 9.39 on the clock) with Jordan Poole calling for passage in the Warriors.
In that moment of need the Lakers rearmed themselves, with aggressive transitions, such as one that ended in a kill from Davis to a pass from James, quelled the first outburst of the visitors (68-61 with 7.51 to go).
It seemed that the Lakers had taken the measure of the game when they put ten up with only 2.35 left in the third quarter (84-74), but another disaster of the second unit of the Angels left practically everything in the starting box against him. final fourth (85-83).
Since 9-12 of the first quarter when only four minutes had been played, the Warriors had not seen themselves above on the scoreboard.
But their meritorious and silent group work paid off when a Poole triple turned the game around as soon as the fourth quarter started (85-86).
Damion Lee joined the party and, without eating or drinking it, suddenly the game was slipping away to the Lakers (90-98 with 8.14 on the clock).
The Lakers were in a hurry after all night playing at half throttle and Avery Bradley presented his candidacy for unsuspected hero of the day, but the Warriors were clear and their heads were cold.
In addition, Curry woke up at the precise moment with a triple and Bjelica did the same to bare the serious problems of the Lakers in their protection of the rim.
Despite this, the Angelenos did not give up, with James and Davis pulling the car relentlessly, but a great triple by Andrew Wiggins after a great ball movement by the Warriors ended the first and unfortunate game of these “new” Lakers.