The Los Angeles Lakers made sure there would be no second half meltdown this time around as they blew out the Golden State Warriors, 117-91.
Like their last matchup, Dennis Schroder was effective early as he found Marc Gasol for an and-1 and later got himself free at the rim for a layup. The Warriors later lost track of Gasol and he made them pay with two 3-pointers at the top of the arc to give the Lakers an 18-5 lead.
Golden State went on a 7-0 run triggered by a Stephen Curry four-point play, but Kyle Kuzma knocked down his first three of the night and came up with a steal immediately after. LeBron James ignited the defense in the final two minutes and they went into the second up 41-21.
Alex Caruso was able to get into the paint for a couple of layups, but the Warriors kept pace on the other end. Both teams went to small-ball lineups which allowed Montrezl Harrell to to score easily around the basket.
The Laker bench continued to extend the lead, with a Talen Horton-Tucker drive putting them up by 29. L.A. also took advantage of being in the bonus while James nailed a buzzer-beating 3 to give them a 73-44 advantage at the half.
The Lakers came out flat to begin the third as they did not move with the same energy and purpose offensively, but defensively they kept the Warriors from making a dent into their lead. A timeout from head coach Frank Vogel helped as they came out of it with five quick points, extending the lead to 30.
With the Lakers so far ahead, Damian Jones got to enter the game and flushed a lob from Schroder in the pick and roll. Jones flashed more of what he could do with a pair of blocks and helped Los Angeles go into the fourth up 99-69. However, Jones was holding his back when checking out of the game in the fourth quarter and went straight to the locker room.
Leading by 30, Vogel opted to go with an all-bench lineup that had no issues keeping the Warriors from ever getting close. Golden State did not bother to re-insert their starters, allowing L.A. to secure the easy victory.
Draymond Green did not play in the second half due to a sprained left ankle.
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