Fans were finally treated to the debut of the Los Angeles Lakers ‘Big 3’ of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook but unfortunately they would fall again to the Golden State Warriors, 111-99, to remain winless in the preseason.
Carmelo Anthony was able to get the Lakers on the board after drawing a shooting foul on a 3-point attempt, but the Warriors took an early 6-3 lead. However, LeBron James was able to quickly put Los Angeles up after scoring on three consecutive layups while Anthony Davis knocked down his first midrange jumper.
Davis got rolling midway through the quarter, finishing a couple of lobs from Rajon Rondo and patrolling the paint to deny the Warriors anything near the rim. Davis continued to dominate the period on both ends, and a James three in the final minute put the Lakers up 32-24 after one.
Los Angeles was able to extend its lead to double digits thanks to their active defense, with Dwight Howard leading the way with his rebounding and physicality. Austin Reaves also continued to show real flashes, displaying great defensive awareness and later leaking out for an easy layup.
Things began to turn against the Lakers as their offense slowed to a crawl while the Warriors were able to put together a 18-4 run that put them back up 47-43. L.A. was able to regain control after a Russell Westbrook jumper and free throw, allowing the team to go into the half ahead 55-53.
James started to see his jumper go down, knocking down a pair of turnarounds and later found Kent Bazemore in the corner for a three that extended the Laker lead to 11. However, Jordan Poole ignited a 10-0 run that narrowed the Los Angeles lead to only one.
The Lakers eventually surrendered the lead after their offense cooled off once again, with Andrew Wiggins earning an and-one and Davis being called for a technical foul. Fortunately, the Purple and Gold were once again able to answer the Golden State run, though they went into the fourth still trailing 85-84.
The two teams began to ping-pong the lead to begin the final period, though Chaundee Brown had a solid sequence where he nailed a pull-up jumper then forced a miss on the other end. The Warriors briefly took a five-point lead, but the Lakers were able to trim it back down to own after a Brown bucket.
Head coach Frank Vogel opted to empty out his bench to close the game and Golden State took advantage by going up by as many as 10. The bench was unable to mount a comeback, and the Lakers would remain winless in preseason.
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