The Golden State Warriors have handed the Los Angeles Lakers a reality check, cruising to a 127-100 win in Game 2 to level their Western Conference semi-finals series at 1-1.
Although, while it was certainly a disappointing way to close out the road trip for the Lakers, the fact they took one game from the Warriors at Chase Center remains a plus.
The challenge for the Lakers and coach Darvin Ham will be to make the necessary adjustments, specifically against the Steph Curry and Draymond Green pick-and-roll.
Conversely, Steve Kerr definitely made adjustements, with the decision to put Green on Anthony Davis proving particularly effective as the Lakers big man was held to just 11 points.
It followed a statement performance from Davis in Game 1 where he erupted for 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
On Friday Green upped the physicality and took it to Davis, who also had seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks but turned the ball over four times.
The other big success story for the Warriors was JaMychal Green, starting for Kevon Looney as the center dealt with an illness and managed to play only 12 minutes.
The Lakers defence left Green open and he made them pay, going 3-for-6 from downtown to finish with 15 points.
Klay Thompson (30 points) led the way for the Warriors in scoring while Curry had 20 points while dishing out 12 assists in a playmaking masterclass.
Although as The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami pointed out, there has yet to be a big Curry game like that he had in Game 7 against the Kings, something which he called a “very bad omen” for L.A.
Things were so easy for Curry and the Warriors on Friday that the Golden State superstar could afford an early mark, picturing blowing bubble gum.
It wasn’t all bad for the Lakers though, at least early in the game, carrying the momentum from a 117-112 win in Game 1 into the opening quarter to take a 33-26 lead.
Although this time it was LeBron James leading the way instead of Davis, with the Lakers superstar finishing the quarter with 14 points after going 6-for-8 from the field.
That wasn’t the only change in the second game of the series as the Lakers went from dominating in the paint and at the charity stripe to instead finding success from downtown.
L.A. hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter of Game 2 after draining just six in the entire series opener, while also failing to earn a single free throw after making 25 in Game 1.
As for the Warriors, they were getting clean looks with Green while high pick-and-roll with Curry and Green was also causing plenty of problems for the Lakers.
But it was Thompson who caught fire to help the Warriors to a 67-56 lead by halftime, with Golden State outscoring the Lakers 41-23 in the second quarter.
Thompson was hot from deep, going 5-for-7 as the Warriors sharpshooter finished the half on 19 points to help ease the pressure on Curry (eight points), who had picked up three fouls.
Curry may have only made three buckets in the half but he was dishing them out, finishing the second quarter with eight assists.
Funnily enough, the Warriors had well and truly flipped the script after Game 1 to outscore the Lakers 30-12 in the paint while Thompson’s 3-pointers added balance to the offence.
L.A., on the other hand, was largely relying on James and Rui Hashimura, who impressed off the bench with 14 points and three rebounds.
James though led all scorers at the half with 21 points, making up for a quiet showing from Davis, who had just four points to go with two rebounds and an assist.
Davis had been challenged in the lead-up to the Warriors series by Charles Barkley, who questioned whether he would be able to consistently produce against the defending champions.
“My faith in Anthony Davis is … I can’t trust that dude,” Barkley said on ‘Inside the NBA’. “He played great every other game. But can Anthony Davis dominate for four games? I think he has a huge advantage. I don’t think they have anybody that can guard him, but he’s so inconsistent.
“When he plays like he is capable of, he is great. Can they get four great games out of Anthony Davis? That’s what this series is going to come down to.”
While Davis answered the call in Game 1, his more tame performance on Friday only further backed up Barkley’s concerns over his inconsistency.
The Lakers scored the first four points of the third quarter but it was all the Warriors from there, with the lead ballooning out to 90-69 with just over five minutes left.
The decision to start Green continued to prove a masterstroke from Golden State coach Steve Kerr as the veteran opened the quarter with 10 points and an assist.
The scoreline only blew out even more by the end of the third, with Golden State going up 110-80 as the fourth quarter became nothing but a mere formality.
Alont with James, Hachimura was a shining light for the Lakers second unit with 21 points and five rebounds from 22 minutes.
The series now heads to L.A. as the Lakers host the Warriors in Game 2 on Sunday at 10.3am [AEST].
