As Moses Moody swung on the rim and LeBron James stood flat-footed, the five Lakers on the court all dropped their heads, eyes pointed to the court. There were still 2.2 seconds left in the third quarter, but James caught the inbounds pass and dribbled out the clock.
There was no decision for coach Darvin Ham to make, no comeback to try to put together. Down 30 points, the Lakers leader made it obvious.
They were done. And with 12 more minutes to play, this game was over.
Officially, the Lakers lost 127-100, but it was finished way before that.
Anthony Davis, the two-way dominant Lakers force, had no juice on either end of the court, as the Warriors stacked 40-plus points in back-to-back quarters to turn Game 2 into a blowout. After playing the entire second half in the Lakers’ Game 1 win, he couldn’t come close to putting together the necessary energy to run with a Warriors offense that was fueled by desperation.
Klay Thompson made eight three-point shots and all five starters scored at least 10 as Golden State cruised to the 27-point win with Stephen Curry handing out 12 assists.
Game 3 is Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
The Lakers actually led by seven after the first quarter thanks to James and Rui Hachimura, the pair combining to score 22. But the pair were the only consistent offense the Lakers could put together all game, James finishing with 23 and Hachimura adding 21 off the bench. Davis scored only 11 points.
Game 2 should be a reminder of what the Lakers are actually up against in this round of the playoffs.
New Orleans. Memphis. Houston. Portland. Oklahoma City. Utah. San Antonio. The Clippers. Denver. Dallas. Sacramento.
They’ve all tried to do it, to beat Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors in the playoffs, and they’ve all failed. The Lakers, should they beat the Warriors, would be the first Western Conference team to defeat Kerr in the playoffs, a reminder that when his teams have made the playoffs, they’ve gone to the Finals.
Before Game 2, he projected calm, reminding everyone that the Warriors lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Chase Center before winning the series last year. Kerr wouldn’t share any real strategic plans, though the logical move was obvious — to speed up the Lakers and stretch them out with shooting.
Kevon Looney, who had 23 rebounds in Game 1, moved to the bench in Game 2, with the team saying he was sick and would play limited minutes. That allowed veteran JaMychal Green to move into the starting lineup, where he hit three of six shots from three-point range as he scored 15 points.
Draymond Green accelerated the Warriors offense, continually racing the ball into the frontcourt, and even with the Lakers mostly accounting for Curry, his passing and dribbling cut the Lakers defense into pieces.
The Warriors, who went on a 14-0 run late in Game 1 with Looney on the bench, again gave the Lakers trouble with one more shooter on the court.
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