Lonzo Ball's Shooting Woes Continue as Kevin Durant, Warriors Cruise Past Lakers
Most NBA teams can't lose three All-Stars from the starting lineup and still have a future Hall of Famer leading the way, but the Golden State Warriors aren't most teams.
Kevin Durant spearheaded Golden State's 117-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at Oracle Arena with 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, helping make up for the absences of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Warriors and a two-game winning streak for a Lakers squad that received eight points and 11 assists on 3-of-11 shooting from the field and 1-of-8 shooting from three-point range from rookie Lonzo Ball.
Injuries served as the primary storyline entering play Wednesday, as the Warriors announced Curry was out with an ankle injury, Thompson was out with a thumb injury, Green was out with shoulder soreness, David West was out with a cyst on his right arm, and Patrick McCaw was out with a fractured left wrist.
On the other side, Brandon Ingram is still sidelined with a groin injury, Josh Hart is out with a broken hand, and Bill Oram of the Southern California News Group reported Kyle Kuzma would miss the game with a sprained ankle.
The litany of absences put the onus on Durant to carry the offense, which hasn't been a problem of late considering he averaged 38.7 points his previous three games.
While the Warriors are largely built on the back of a number of lethal options on the offensive end, having a four-time scoring champion looking for his own shot isn't a bad alternative when three All-Stars are out of the starting lineup. He wasted little time doing just that with 16 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting, although his shot faded some in the second half (10-of-19 from the field and 1-of-7 from deep for the game).
To Durant's credit, he didn't force the issue when Los Angeles directed additional defensive attention his way and played the role of facilitator at times.
Seven Warriors scored in double figures, and it is a testament to their depth that they added to their lead when Durant spent the first five minutes of the fourth quarter on the bench. Nick Young served as the team's second-leading scorer with 18 points, relishing his role in the starting lineup against his former team by launching eight three-pointers, making three.
Los Angeles still remained competitive throughout the contest against the defending champions, relying on a strong frontcourt performance since the absence of Green, Thompson and Curry meant Golden State couldn't unleash its terrifying lineup with Green as the small-ball center.
The Brook Lopez and Julius Randle combination was particularly difficult for the Warriors to deal with since Randle is capable of bullying his way to the basket down low and Lopez can play on the blocks or the high elbow with soft touch and facilitating ability.
Randle posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards despite fouling out, while Lopez stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, five blocks and two assists.
The bigs' scoring opened up opportunities for assists from the backcourt as Isaiah Thomas (20 points and seven dimes) and Ball kept the ball moving in half-court sets, preventing the Warriors from settling in on defense at times. Despite solid stretches, Los Angeles still didn't have the firepower to pull off the win on the road.
The loss and poor shooting from Ball weren't the only issues for the Lakers, either, as Randle and Thomas had to be separated in the huddle:
Losing breeds frustration, and the Lakers will look to turn that around Friday against the Miami Heat. Golden State will turn its attention toward a matchup with the Sacramento Kings on the same day.
