The Los Angeles Lakers needed to take care of business at home with the series shifting to L.A. tied at 1-1, and they did just that.
The Lakers dominated the Golden State Warriors and came away with a 127-97 win to take a 2-1 lead in the series. After the game, though, LeBron James had a clear message for his team.
“Just don’t get comfortable,” LeBron said. “We don’t have the luxury to get comfortable versus a Golden State team. As long as we stay uncomfortable knowing that they can run off three straight versus us or whatever they want to if we get comfortable. So, it’s about maintaining our habits, understanding that this team is very dangerous, and never get comfortable when you hit the floor with these guys.”
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LeBron will be drilling this message into his teammates in the locker room. This was a great performance, and the Lakers have done a fine job to take a 2-1 lead in this series, but the job is far from being done. The Warriors have shown so many times over the years that they can battle through adversity and come out on top.
Just take the 2022 NBA Finals, where they were down 2-1 to the Boston Celtics with Game 4 in Boston. Stephen Curry put on a show to get the win, and the Warriors won the next two as well to be crowned champions. Writing them off now would be a mistake but there is no denying the fact that the Lakers have been the better team so far.
The Lakers Dominated On Both Ends Here
This was just about as complete a performance as you can get from the Lakers. They shot 52.5% from the field and 48.4% from beyond the arc, as their offense was firing on all cylinders. Six players scored in double digits, with LeBron, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell all scoring over 20.
On defense, the Lakers restricted the Warriors to 39.6% shooting from the field and 29.5% from beyond the arc. They also forced 19 turnovers as Golden State never got going after a good start. If the Lakers keep their foot on the gas and don’t get comfortable, you’d have to fancy their chances of winning Game 4 and eventually the series as well.
