Warriors-Lakers Rewind: What to take from this game of OT survival

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The Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 127-123, in their first matchup of the season on Wednesday.

Here are five things you need to know about from that game:

1. High mileage for the wary

So much for easing Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry back into the fold. Durant, who is coming off of a sprained left ankle, finished with over 42 minutes and Stephen Curry (bruised right hand) played over 39 minutes.

On Tuesday, Durant said his ankle was still swollen, and Curry said that his hand was swollen and that he’d try to play through the pain against the Lakers. Both players clearly pushed through their injuries. Durant finished with 29 points on 12-for-25 shooting, seven rebounds and five assists. Curry had 28 points on nine-for-20 shooting, five rebounds and seven assists. It’s interesting that Steve Kerr decided to play both of his superstars as many minutes as he did, especially considering that he recently said he regretted playing Durant against Oklahoma City on Nov. 22 because it exacerbated his ankle injury.

But the Warriors clearly needed their two best players on the court to avoid losing two games in a row after falling to the Sacramento Kings on Monday. After Wednesday’s win, Curry gave an injury update: “It hurts, but guys have played through worse than this. If I can go out there and try not to think about it, I was going to do that. Obviously with the shooting hand, it’s one of those things you kind of have to get adjusted to because I’m not used to playing with tape and wrist wrap and all of that kind of stuff, but I’ll get better with it.”

2. A real MVP can turn it on when it counts

Curry opened overtime by making back-to-back 3-pointers, and went on to finish with 13 points in the period. That deft touch was missing during regulation, where he shot only one-for-seven from beyond the arc. Curry said that his experience and his ability to keep shooting through bad shooting nights allowed him to have the confidence to do what he did in overtime.

“I’m obviously happy that I made some shots at the end of the game, but I get back into the locker room and [reporter] Marcus Thompson tells me that I air balled three times,” Curry said. “I didn’t even realize. Little stuff like that, just forget about it and keep shooting.”

3. Killer, Shmiller

The Warriors have not been trouncing opponents this season as they have in the past. In fact, against the Lakers, they had 22 turnovers, including six over a three-minute stretch in the third quarter. Kerr, however, is not sounding the alarm over their relative lack of focus.

Said Kerr: “I think going to the Finals three years in a row and then trying to do it again a fourth time, you’re just naturally not going to have quite as much of that killer instinct. It’s human nature. I know it’s there, so I’m not worried. It’s still November. If this were happening in March, I’d be pretty concerned. But I understand what we’re dealing with and going through. I went through this as a player in Chicago and understand it’s a long race.”

4. Them Lakers, though

When asked about the Lakers on Tuesday, Durant was quick to heap praise on coach Luke Walton. He’s clearly done a lot with his young team, who pushed the defending NBA champions to the edge. Brandon Ingram had a career-high 32 points.

Julius Randle, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jordan Clarkson each scored at least 20 points. And Lonzo Ball had 15 points and 10 assists, including an impressive stretch over the third quarter in which he made back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup in 70 seconds.

5. They’re due to lose the next one in LA

The Warriors have lost one game at Staples Center every year since Kerr became the Warriors’ coach in 2014. Their next game against the Lakers in Los Angeles is Dec. 18. If you’re a betting (wo)man, you might want to pick the purple and gold in that game.