OAKLAND, Calif. -- Even though the Golden State Warriors have been making plenty of noise with their double-digit winning streak, Steve Kerr felt it had been a little too calm, and perhaps even a tad too polite lately.
"It feels like we are kind of at a point where we need a jolt," Kerr said. "The other night [against the Memphis Grizzlies] was kind of a boring game."
"I'm really excited that Draymond's back," Kerr added of Draymond Green's return from a shoulder injury. "We both look forward to yelling at each other again. Last couple of weeks, it's been too cordial."
The Los Angeles Lakers nearly gave Golden State the kind of shock Kerr didn't want to see, erasing a 23-point deficit in the second half and taking a brief fourth-quarter lead. But Kevin Durant took over offensively and defensively down the stretch and lifted Golden State to a 113-106 victory at Oracle Arena on Friday night.
With Green, the Warriors' fire and motor, back after a four-game absence, Golden State won its 11th straight game. And the defending champs -- playing without the injured Stephen Curry -- wouldn't require overtime this time to beat the Lakers, who did their best to make the Warriors (26-6) sweat.
The Warriors, who needed overtime to beat the Lakers twice in Los Angeles earlier this season, were led again by Durant's 33 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four blocks -- two pivotal rejections coming late to deny the Lakers any chance of an upset.
Jordan Bell had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Klay Thompson scored 16 points and Green finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes.
Kyle Kuzma scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half to go with 14 rebounds and Lonzo Ball had one of his best scoring games of the season with 24 points, making five 3-pointers to go with five assists and five rebounds.
The Lakers (11-19) came into this game feeling good about themselves after stunning the Rockets in Houston and snapping their 14-game winning streak. And here they were trying to snap the next longest winning streak of the season. Only two teams (Orlando Magic in 2010-11 and the Lakers in 1996-97) in NBA history have snapped double-digit win streaks in consecutive games.
Ball, getting his first taste of the Warriors in a hostile environment, knocked down his first four 3-point attempts, almost picking up where Kuzma left off in Houston when the rookie forward knocked down his first six treys.
But the Warriors would build a 71-48 lead early in the third and the rout certainly looked like it was on. Golden State's offense stalled, however, and the Lakers began doing what they've done for most of this season -- stay competitive. The Lakers used a surprising 41-17 run over 12:38 to erase the lead and take an 89-88 lead with 7:45 remaining after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Julius Randle hit consecutive 3s.
Kuzma, who had a career-high 38 points in Houston, kept attacking in the second half to help fuel the Lakers' comeback, scoring 17 of those points during the comeback run.
But in the end, as was the case in their previous two meetings, the Warriors had the superstar closer and the Lakers did not. After Steph Curry beat them down the stretch in the first meeting, Durant has done so in the last two. Like he did in overtime on Monday to spoil Kobe Bryant's jerseys retirement ceremony game, the Warriors' star made winning plays. He blocked Julius Randle, who was a big factor for the Lakers with 21 points and 10 rebounds, inside when Randle tried to tie the game inside down 99-97 with over three minutes left. Then Durant found Bell inside for a layup and the Lakers couldn't score. The Lakers forced a couple of shots and Golden State made them pay, extending the lead back up to 105-97 in a matter of seconds.
For good measure, Durant came up with a terrific help block on Brandon Ingram at the rim, knocked down two free throws, and blocked Randle again inside to preserve the Warriors' winning streak.
The Lakers will return home Saturday night to host the Portland Trail Blazers. The Warriors will stay home and host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Both the Lakers and Warriors will host games on Christmas.
Read Again http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21852085/nba-lakers-take-warriors-wire-againBagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Warriors hold on late against resilient Lakers to win 11th straight"
Post a Comment