Golden state lakers score for free#

James fought valiantly, just as Curry did tonight, but couldn't quite carry his team past the finish line on his own. The first time James played Curry in the Finals, his two best teammates, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, were out injured. This time around, it came in the first-ever play-in tournament, about as far away from the Finals as it could get.īut really, the true change came in their supporting casts. Obviously, James and Curry's postseason meetings exclusively came in the Finals prior to this game. This game was a role reversal in more ways than one. This game was won on a 3-pointer by James, a somewhat fitting way for him to beat Curry, history's greatest shooter. Good things happened from there, and they put up just enough points to win the game. When all else failed, they were able to put their heads down and race to the basket.

That's what they did against the Warriors. But winning ugly games means scoring ugly points. The Lakers don't need to score as much as other contenders because of their defense. The trio of James, Schroder and Davis, the three primary ball-handlers on the team, attempted 19 of them. They wouldn't have won this game without their 25 free-throw attempts. On Wednesday, the Lakers went the typical playoff route: they got to the line. Teams need to be able to generate points in other ways when those shots aren't falling. In reality, role players tend to get worse in the playoffs, not better. Rajon Rondo and Markieff Morris shot well above their heads and the Lakers won the championship as a result. The Lakers survived last year by… well… making their shots. Teams know in the playoffs that if the Lakers are going to play big, and even when they don't, their best bet at beating them involves packing the paint and forcing them to shoot. Scoring in the halfcourt, particularly when a single player can't create shots easily, becomes significantly harder. The things that worked all year suddenly get harder. That obviously isn't the norm, but it's the sort of thing that can happen in hyper-intense postseason settings. James, Davis and Schroder started this game 4-of-28 from the field. After a year-long identity crisis, they've found themselves again. A slot might change here or there depending on the matchup, but ultimately, we got a glimpse into who the Lakers are going to rely on when the chips are down. From the time Vogel settled on that seven to the end of the game, the Lakers outscored the Warriors by 12. It combines elite defense and playmaking with just enough shooting to beat any opponent. That combination of seven players, with Davis playing at center, offers every skill that a championship team needs. The former offered supplementary playmaking. The final slots went to Dennis Schroder and Wes Matthews. They delivered, shooting a combined 50 percent from the floor while providing stellar defense and rebounding. Those were arguably the three most important role players on last season's championship team, and when the chips were down, Vogel trusted them again. Neither were Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Alex Caruso. They had to settle on their best groups or face elimination Friday, and from the middle of the third quarter onward, they used only seven players. The regular season was largely spent experimenting with different combinations and trying to make sure everyone got the reps that they needed.īut down 13 in a playoff game, the Lakers no longer had time to experiment. Good players often went weeks without playing. Balancing that group has been a challenge all season.

Golden state lakers score for free#

The decisions were usually as basic as 'big or small' and 'which shooters do we use?' But Rob Pelinka built a roster this season with 13 rotation-caliber players all with disparate skill sets, many of whom are headed for free agency in the offseason. It was essentially built to surround the superstars with shooting and defense, and that made lineup construction relatively simple. Last season's roster was fairly easy to manage. The Lakers' front office put Frank Vogel in a very difficult position this season. Here are the three biggest takeaways from tonight's Lakers victory. With the Lakers moving on to face the Phoenix Suns, the Warriors will now have to shift their focus to another game on Friday night to keep their postseason hopes alive. This game delivered on every level as LeBron James and Stephen Curry came up clutch for their respective teams to bring us to the conclusion we ultimately saw. There was an error processing your subscription.