SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – LeBron James no longer has to do it all against Stephen Curry on the big stage, not even close. Anthony Davis plugs the middle and takes away the easy chances inside. Dennis Schröder has the energy to help chase number 30 all over the court. D’Angelo Russell can hit a big shot with a hand in his face.
That’s the thing about these new-look Lakers – they take so much pressure off the game’s all-time scoring leader and LeBron believes in them, even with the defending champions on a 14-0 run with their home crowd rocking.
Davis had 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots, James added 22 points and 11 rebounds dueling with Stephen Curry in their latest postseason showdown, and Los Angeles (LA) held off a late flurry by the Golden State Warriors to win an entertaining Game 1 in the Western Conference semifinals 117-112 yesterday.
“We’ve been playing playoff basketball for about two months now just to punch our clock to be able to play right now in the postseason,” James said. “We were very resilient tonight.
We know how great they are on their home floor, so to withstand that, it’s another good step for our ballclub.”
James’ 23 points were his third-fewest in 23 playoff games against the Warriors. His previous-low in a win was 27 in Game 7 of 2016 Finals.
Jordan Poole missed a three-pointer to tie it with 9.7 seconds left as the Warriors’ rally in the closing minutes fell short. Curry’s three with 1:38 left tied the game, then Russell answered right back before Davis blocked a shot by Curry moments later. James missed the first of two free throws with 1:05 to go.
Poole’s three with 2:48 remaining cut the Lakers’ lead to 112-109, and James was called for travelling with 1:53 left.
For all-time scoring leader James and Curry – who has the most three-pointers ever and is reigning NBA Finals MVP – this is a new chapter in the long rivalry between the superstars after they faced off in four straight NBA Finals from 2015-2018 while James played for Cleveland.
Curry scored 27 points, Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 25, and Kevon Looney grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds for his fourth game of this postseason with 20 or more. He also had 10 points and five assists. Thompson made a three with 5:19 to go that cut the Lakers’ lead to 112-104.
The defending champion Warriors will try to even the series in Game 2 tomorrow back on their home floor at Chase Center, where LA fans could be heard chanting “Let’s go Lakers!” after the final buzzer.
Davis dominated from the opening tip, making nine of his first 10 shots, while Russell scored 19 points and dished out six assists against his former team.