It was likely an anomaly, but
Steph Curry and the
Warriors were no match for the lowly
Lakers because of poor shooting from deep.
Plus,
Russell Westbrook taking over as usual and everything else from a wild Sunday in the
NBA. With the
Golden State Warriors trailing the
Los Angeles Lakers 97-81 with 6:41 left to play on
Sunday, Stephen Curry brought the ball up the court. For what seemed like the first time all day, no one on the Lakers picked him up at half court. He was supposed to waltz up to the three-point line and sink a high-arcing three like he's done so many times this season and lead the Warriors on a comeback for their 56th win of the season. But Curry missed — he was only 1 of 10 from deep — and the Warriors never made their patented run. The Lakers coasted to a 112-95 blowout win. It was one of the biggest upsets in regular season history.
The Warriors were 55-5 and the Lakers were 12-51. It was the first time a team with a win percentage better than .900 met a team with a win percentage below .
200 at least 50 games into a season, according to
Elias Sports Bureau . And it was never really close — the Lakers had a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter. Curry had 18 points in the loss as
Jordan Clarkson and
D'Angelo Russell led the Lakers in
Kobe Bryant's final game against the Warriors.
Clarkson had 25 points and
Russell added 21 points and five assists in a game in which the Lakers were consistently a step ahead. It was an ugly, ugly day for the Warriors, who were a mere 4 of 30 from three — Clarkson, for reference, was 4 of 6 from deep . Curry was bad, but
Klay Thompson's 0 for 8 was even worse. Only benchwarmer
Ian Clark , who was 2 for 2, could get the ball through the hoop. The Warriors shoot 41.7 percent from deep this season, but made only 13 percent in the loss to the Lakers. It was disastrous on all counts. They were 2 of 12 on wide open threes (defenders were more than six feet away) and 1 of 10 when a defender was within two to four feet. Curry and
Thompson were 0 for 17 from the field when their shot wasn't preceded by a pass, per
ESPN's Tom Haberstroh . Plus, they couldn't take care of the ball. The Warriors turned it over a season-high 20 times — many times on lazy passes around the perimeter that led to fast-break points for the Lakers.
Sure, it was a sloppy, lazy game for the Warriors and almost assuredly a blip on the radar in a historic season, but the Lakers did show a few ways to slow down
Golden State. They double-teamed Curry every opportunity they got and, unlike every other team this season, were able to slow the rest of the Warriors, too. The Warriors can often get by even if they fall apart for stretches, but the Lakers never let up. Sensing that a lull would let the Warriors back into the game, the Lakers looked like the team chasing the 1995-96
Chicago Bulls '
72-10 record. The Warriors will rebound from this. They're still 55-6 and on pace to pass the Bulls — who, incidentally, made four three-pointers or less 23 times, and in a loss to the Suns shot
8.3 percent (1 of 12). It was, however, a gut check that Curry or
Draymond Green can't play hero ball every night. And the race for 73 wins just got a lot more interesting. 3 other things Russell Westbrook doesn't have to shoot to dominate The
Oklahoma City Thunder coasted to a 104-96 win on the tails of another Russell Westbrook triple-double. He had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the way, and he did so only taking seven shots.
Westbrook was 3 of 7 from the field, but made his presence known in other ways — just like he always does.
Quick highlight: big block from Russ. https://t.co/WJmeuXtpHO
—
OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 6, 2016
The man is everywhere on the basketball court. The
Thunder have struggled to close out elite teams this season, but they were able to hold on despite a poor second half against the Bucks on Sunday. They have the talent to make a run this postseason, especially
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- published: 07 Mar 2016
- views: 5