The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) has company defending him the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James (23) and Dennis Schroder (17) on Mon Jan 18, 2021 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors tipped off against the defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, at the Staples Center Monday night. The Warriors had lost their last two games against the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets. Their game against the Phoenix Suns  Friday night was postponed due to Phoenix not putting eight men on the roster. The Warriors just edged the Lakers on Monday night with a 115-113 two point win. 

Thet did not have an enviable task. They had to beat the Lakers on their court in LA. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers felt they would put another win on the board. The Lakers jumped out to a 34-22 lead at the end of the first quarter. They led 34-15 until late in the quarter when the Warriors scored the last seven points to trail 34-22. 

The Warriors played better in the second period. Kelly Oubre, Jr. played well. He led the club in scoring with 16 points in the first half. Eric Paschall, coming off the bench, added nine. The Warriors cut the deficit to five 42-37. The Lakers responded by going on an 18-7 run to finish the first half leading 64-48. 

The Warriors won the third quarter 33-28 to trail by eleven 92-81 with just one quarter left to play. The Warriors climbed back into the game when they went on a 17-2 run. Andrew Wiggins made three consecutive three-point shots. Kevon Looney made a corner three, and Steph Curry followed with another three. They trailed 70-68 at this point in the game. The Lakers refused to wilt. They finished the quarter on a 13-2 run.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors played like the five-year run team that saw them win three championships and play in five consecutive NBA finals. They played well on both ends of the court. The defense made the Lakers work to get open.

They forced turnovers. The offense came to life. Eric Paschall was a force on both ends of the court. The Lakers were leading 108-101 when Curry knocked down a deuce and was fouled on the play. He made the free throw to make it 108-104.

On the Warriors next possession, the Lakers fouled Curry again. He made both free throws to make it 108-16. When the Lakers tried to inbound the ball, Kelly Oubre caused the Lakers to commit a turnover. The Warriors tied the game on Oubre’s bucket.

The Warriors went ahead 110-108 with 2:38 left to play. It was the first Warrior lead of the night. The referees called traveling on LeBron James to give the ball back to the Warriors. They scored to make it 112-108.

The Lakers’ Anthony Davis got two back. Curry answered with a three to give the Warriors the lead 115-110 with 1:02. James made two free throws, Dennis Shroder one to make two it  turned out to be a 115-113 thriller. 

Game Notes and Stats: Eric Paschall and Kelly Oubre had season-highs in scoring. Oubre played his best game as a Warriors. Kelly finished with 23 points and four rebounds. He was a force on defense and caused the Lakers to commit several turnovers.

Paschall finished with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Curry was double-teamed all night, came to life in the second half and recorded 26 points and seven assists. He connected on three threes in 12 tries.

Andrew Wiggins played well on both ends of the court. He knocked down 18 points and made three threes in a row in the third quarter. Draymond Green made two big buckets in the fourth quarter that helped secure the victory. Green’s line was seven points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. 

Dennis Shroder led LA with 25 points. LeBron had 19, Anthony Davis had a double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Montrezl Harrell had 17 points and eight boards. Kyle Kuzma had a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds.

The Warriors had their motion offense working well Monday night as they recorded 31 assists. The Warriors shot 50.6% from the floor, and they made twelve threes.

The Warriors improved to 7-6 for the year. The Lakers dropped to 11-4.

The Warriors return home to face the improved New York Knicks Wednesday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7 pm.