Warriors blown out by Lakers one night after best win of the season
What separates the great players is consistency, and it’s a lack of consistency that has kept these Warriors from rising up the ranks in the Western Conference standings.
One night after a statement win over the Utah Jazz — owner’s of the league’s best record — Stephen Curry scored 27 points, but did not get much help from his supporting cast as the Warriors fell to the Lakers, 128-97, Monday night at Chase Center.
“These last two days define our team in a lot of ways,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “In a span of 36 hours we beat the team with the best record in the league … then lost by 31 points to another great team. We’re 20-20 for a reason.”
After scoring a season-high 28 points against the Jazz, Andrew Wiggins finished with just 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting Monday. Kelly Oubre Jr. mustered only 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, and no other Warriors player scored in the double-digits before garbage time.
Meanwhile, the Lakers missing Anthony Davis (right calf strain) and Marc Gasol (health and safety protocols) dominated points in the paint (68-40) and rebounds (46-30) as Montrezl Harrell scored 27 points and LeBron James took over in the second half and finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. James’ back-to-back 3-pointers put the Lakers up by 28 points with 7:19 remaining.
In the end, the Warriors (20-20) were blown out by the Lakers (26-13) for the second time in two weeks.
On Wednesday against the Houston Rockets, the Warriors will again have an opportunity to go above .500 and hold onto their place on the fringe of the playoff picture. And that’s exactly where Golden State will stay unless it can string together some wins.