Lakers clinging to ninth place in West after loss to Warriors
Dan Woike April 9, 2024
In the months before, the frailty of the NBA season seems more abstract, each game representing an equal 1.2% slice of the season. When youre in the grind of it, the tomorrows eclipse any
real
finality.
Until it gets here and then all youre left with are if onlys.
If only the Lakers had been sharper out of the in-season tournament. If
, if
only it hadnt taken so long to find their shooting stroke. If
, if
only they’d held tighter onto the rope against Brooklyn and Sacramento.
If only theyd been a little luckier, a little better.
If only they had more time.
With the end of the
regular
season barreling toward them, the Lakers played what could end up being their final home game of this season, losing
a massive game
134-120 to Golden State
in a massive matchup on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena
.
The Lakers are now half a game ahead of the Warriors, the team
s
now tied with 35 losses and Golden State owning the season tiebreaker.
The
y Lakers
finish the
year season
in Memphis and New Orleans
on Friday and Sunday
, their postseason fate largely out of their hands.
The Lakers were in great position Saturday after beating Cleveland, moving into eighth in the West and owning momentum to spare. So they thought. Postgame, LeBron James complained about an illness that would sideline him Sunday against the Timberwolves. And any chance they had against Minnesota ended in the first quarter when Anthony Davis left the game after being hit in the face.
Before
Tuesday
‘spre
game, there was plenty of suspense. It started with word that Davis wouldnt be able to play because of headaches and nausea. It continued when players inside the locker room said they hadnt even seen James at the arena, unsure of whether
or not
hed be able to play.
James would
beget
upgraded to available at the last possible moment
s
before the Lakers needed to submit their starters. He scored 33
points
in 35 minutes to go with seven rebounds and 11 assists.
He gave the Lakers a quick boost
,
but nothing compared to the execution the Warriors delivered, the team hammering the Lakers with a barrage of three
-pointer
s from all angles.
Draymond Green
madehit
five in the first half and rookie Brandin Podziemski canned three straight, all while Stephen Curry, the Warriors most dangerous weapon, patiently dissected the Lakers Davis-less defense.
CurryCurrey
made all six of his threes, not even
hitting them with flashing
his go to sleep celebration when he made his final shot of the game. He scored 23
points
on
onlyjust
nine attempts with eight assists and seven rebounds.
The Lakers, though, grinded their way back from 17 down to get
to
within five in the third quarter and within nine early in the fourth, with a chance to cut it to six. But like it was all night, their shot-making wasnt as good as
that of
Golden State.
s, the Warriors issuing death by a thousand series of swishes.
The game underscored why the Lakers have been so desperately trying to push out of the No. 9/No. 10 play-in game a single-elimination, win-or-its-over game that, especially now, could end up being played on the Warriors home court.
And when you consider the speed in which they can turn a game Golden State scored 10 straight in the final 83 seconds of the third quarter
the Warriors aretheir
one of the last teams anyone would want to see in a true elimination game.
The Lakers got some help around the league Tuesday, with Sacramento blowing a big lead in
itstheir
loss
to at
Oklahoma City and the Clippers hanging on to win in Phoenix.
They
re Lakers are
going to need more of it, their playoff future slipping through the
Lakers
their hands with
the a
second
–
straight loss.
If only it couldve been different.
