Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) takes a jump shot between the Los Angeles Lakers Austin Reaves guard (15) and forward LeBron James (23) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tue Apr 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitellberg

Two of the NBA’s most formidable teams clashed in Los Angeles Tuesday evening. The Lakers, winners of nine of the last eleven games, were determined to secure a win over the Warriors despite their key player Anthony Davis’s absence due to an eye injury. The Warriors, winners of seven of the last eight, were equally eager to win the season’s series. The Lakers’ resilience was evident as Jaxson Hayes, all seven feet of him, stepped up to start in place of Davis. 

The Warriors are 16-4 in their last 20 road games. With the win Tuesday night, they are 25-11 since January 30th. 

The Warriors beat the Lakers 134-120 on Tuesday night. Warrior fans saw the team make 26 threes in the game, a season-high for the Warriors in that department. The Warriors team record is 27 threes. Draymond Green connected five times from downtown, Stephen Curry made six threes in six tries, and Klay Thompson had five threes.

LeBron James returned to action after being out with the flu. He made his presence felt as he led the Lakers with 33 points and eleven rebounds. Not bad for a thirty-nine-year-old man.

The Warriors won the first quarter 38-29. Draymond Green(six), Thompson (8), and Brandin Podziemski (!0) were the key players in the quarter. The Warriors made seven threes and shot 58% from the floor. The Lakers mounted a comeback early in the second quarter to trail by three, 42-39.

Andrew Wiggins hit two threes to propel the to Warriors a 16-2 run. The Warriors made eight threes in the second period to finish the first half leading 71-60. Green and Thompson each had 15. Curry had 11. Wiggins scores ten points, all in the second period. Brandin Podziemski added ten. LeBron had 14, and Austin Reaves had 13.

The Warriors defense kept the Lakers at bay all through the third period. Former Warrior D’Angelo Russell made a couple of threes to ignite the Laker offense. The Lakers closed the gap to five, 85-80, but the Warriors kept making plays to lead by seven, 96-89. Podziemski made a three to start a 10-0 run to end the quarter. The Warriors led by 17, 106-89.

The Lakers did not go down without a fight. They started the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to trail 106-98. Chris Paul connected on a three, and the Lakers failed to defend Curry. Curry was alone behind the three-point line and did not miss.

The Warriors lead 112-100. The Lakers were toast. With a score of 130-117, head coach Steve Kerr pulled his top players from the floor and inserted the guys who usually sit on the bench. The Warriors won the game 134-120.

Game Notes: With the win, the Warriors are 44-35 with three games left. The Lakers dropped to 45-35. They have two games left on the schedule.

The Warriors had six players in double figures. Klay Thompson paced the attack with 27. Steph Curry had 23, Wiggins 17, Green 15, Podziemski 13, and Chris Paul 11. Draymond Green had a double-double. Green made ten assists, along with his 15 points. Gary Payton II had nine, Jonathan Kuminga eight. 

LeBron mJa, ed led the Lakers with 33 points, 11 assists and seven boards. Austin Reaves had 22, Russell 14, Dinwiddie 12, Jaxson Hayes 11, and Rui Hachimura, 20 

The Warriors play the Portland Trailblazers on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The ‘Warriors’ last two games will be against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz.