The Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers this Saturday (12) by a score of 117 to 115 at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Forward LeBron James beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record to become the all-time leading scorer in league history with 44,157 points in a combination of regular season and playoff games, but was overshadowed by Klay Thompson’s great performance in the last quarter.
The number 11 was the highlight of the night, scoring 33 points (16 of them in the last quarter), five rebounds and five 3-pointers converted in 30 minutes on the court. Stephen Curry contributed 24 points, five rebounds and eight assists, and saw Jonathan Kuminga end the night with 18 points and nine rebounds. For the Lakers, LeBron flirted with the triple-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, and had the help of Russell Westbrook (19 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and Anthony Davis (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks).
Steve Kerr’s players were better in free throws (73.5% against 66.7%), defensive rebounds (40 against 36) and points scored in turnovers (12 against eight). The men led by Frank Vogel came out ahead in the use of shots (46.6% against 44.4%), in the use of three-point shots (40.7% against 31.6%), in assists (25 against 24) , offensive rebounds (12 against 10), steals (five against four), blocks (six against three) and turnovers (eight against nine).
The Game
Who ended up watching the first minutes of the game, can expect a very disputed confrontation, with two draws and two changes of leadership. The Warriors ended up opening the scoring with a Thompson layup, but saw the Lakers leave it all the same with LeBron passing for Avery Bradley’s triple and the Los Angeles team taking the lead shortly afterward after Westbrook ended an infiltration play. with a tray. But in the following minutes, the home team returned to lead the confrontation with Curry converting three free throws after being fouled by Bradley, and starting to dominate the score in the rest of the period. Even not managing to stay above eight points in the first 12 minutes of the match, the visitors managed to reduce the difference in the final bids,
In the second quarter, the Warriors took advantage of a 9-0 run in the first two and a half minutes of the game, and opened a 15-point lead, the biggest of the game, after Curry passed to Otto Porter Jr.’s layup. The difference lasted. just inside 10 points, remaining for another three minutes until Austin Reaves, who was perfect in shooting, converted a triple after receiving an assist from LeBron. The Lakers managed to narrow the gap further and further, trailing by two points when King James hit a clear shot from the three-line after receiving the pass from Talen Horton-Tucker, and saw Bradley convert another three-shot. accurate in the final seconds to end the first half losing by 65 to 62 (36 to 33 in the fourth).
On the way back to the court, the Lakers seemed to want to control the opponent’s advantage in order to reach the advantage as quickly as possible. Even with the Warriors opening nine points ahead, the Los Angeles team, counting on LeBron’s three-pointer to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the highest scorer in league history counting regular season and playoffs, managed to fulfill the task. to lead the scoring for the first time since the start of the first quarter with just over two minutes left on the clock, when Horton-Tucker caught Monk’s pass to convert a three-pointer. The advantage was short-lived, as Andrew Wiggins was fouled by shirt 20 and converted just one of the two free throws he was entitled to and Poole received a pass from Nemanja Bjelica to pass the front again with a three-pointer.
In the final 12 minutes of play, the Lakers managed to take the lead once again after Horton-Tucker patted him after LeBron’s two-point shot error. The shirt number 5 himself was responsible for giving the visiting team their biggest advantage on the night, which was six points, after being fouled by Thompson and converting both free throws. But the Warriors’ number 11 ended up turning on his splash brother mode , and started to score important baskets in the match, three of them on the perimeter, and he was reaching the mark of 16 points in 10 minutes and 35 seconds that he was on court. It was by his hands that the home team reached equality on the scoreboard with three minutes of play left, and seconds later Wiggins converts a triple shot to give the home team the advantage. In the final seconds, King James was fouled on the perimeter, and went to the free-throw line, being able to tie the game and take the game to overtime. With the error in the first shot and the success in the second, shirt 6 forced the error in the third to get the rebound and try a three-ball, but the clock was already zero and the San Francisco team’s victory in the fourth by 22 to 21 and in the match by 117 to 115 it was right.
ENJOYMENT AND UPCOMING GAMES
With the victory, the Golden State Warriors claim their 42nd triumph in the 2021-2022 season and continue to occupy the second place in the western conference with a 73.7% record (15 losses in 57 games). The Los Angeles Lakers suffer their 31st loss in the championship, and remain in ninth place in the west with a 45.6% record (26 wins in 57 games).
The Warriors’ next appointment is scheduled for this Monday (14), when they will face the Los Angeles Clippers (28-30) at 0:30 am at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Lakers get two more days off, and return to the court on Wednesday (16), when they will host the Utah Jazz (35-21) at 0:00 am at Crypto.com Arena with broadcast throughout Brazil by ESPN.
