Steph Curry fuels huge win vs. Lakers – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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LOS ANGELES — Moses Moody sent the perfect response late Thursday morning when reminded later that night would be the first time the Warriors play a Los Angeles Lakers team with Luka Dončić. 

“First time the Lakers are playing us with Jimmy [Butler],” Moody said. 

Battling for playoff position with 10 days remaining in the regular season, the Warriors beat the Lakers 123-116, earning their first win over their Southern California foes this season.

Steph Curry scored a game-high 37 points, went 13 of 14 on free throws and received MVP chants late in the fourth quarter. Butler only totaled 11 points. LeBron James scored 33 points and fell one assist shy of a double-double, and Dončić dropped an inefficient 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting and missed all six tries behind the 3-point line.

With the win, the Warriors still are the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed, half a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies. Golden State now is one game behind Los Angeles for the No. 4 seed.

Much of the Warriors’ win was about secondary players like Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga shining under pressure.

The Warriors outrebounded the Lakers, dished more assists than them and also beat their bigger opponent down low in the paint.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ win in what was nothing short of a playoff atmosphere.

Podz Steals The Show

The hype was real, the headlines wrote themself and the spotlight was obvious. This was going to be all about Steph vs. LeBron and Jimmy vs. Luka. Podziemski had other plans. 

Responding to Austin Reaves’ 3-pointer to open the game, Podziemski immediately buried a triple of his own. His 3-point shot was falling early, going a perfect 3 of 3 from deep in the first quarter. Podziemski kept it up in the second quarter, too. 

Giving the Warriors a 13-point halftime lead, Podziemski made three more 3-pointers in the second quarter, including a runner from halfcourt at the buzzer. Podziemski in the first half scored 22 points – a new career high for a half – on 8-of-11 shooting, was 6 of 7 on threes and added six rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Podziemski didn’t make another shot until a little over two minutes into the fourth quarter, hitting a three from the left corner to give him 25 points. His career-high eighth three with a minute-plus left gave the Warriors a 10-point lead. The second-year pro certainly wasn’t scared of the big stage.

Trade Deadline Debate

It took until the 7:36 mark of the second quarter for Butler to record a single stat. His first quarter box score was all zeroes: No points, no shots, no assists, no rebounds – nothing. By then, Dončić had already taken seven shots. 

But a little under halfway through the second quarter, Butler beat his man for back-to-back layups. Still, Butler had a quiet first half (four points, two rebounds and one steal) while Dončić struggled to find his shot.

Butler left the game and went to the Warriors’ locker room for a long stretch in the third quarter. Earlier in the game, he was seen wincing as he opened and closed his left hand. Butler returned to begin the fourth quarter, where he scored seven points and attempted his first free throws with one minute and seven seconds still on the clock.

Neither player put on a show, especially to their standards. Everyone wants to argue which trade deadline move, Butler to the Warriors or Dončić to the Lakers, was the bigger deal. The coming weeks will reveal the real answer.

Kuminga’s Impact

After exiting Sunday’s win against the Spurs in San Antonio early from a hard fall that first was deemed right ankle soreness and then was changed to a right pelvic contusion, Jonathan Kuminga returned from a one-game absence, missing Golden State’s road win over the Grizzlies. Health didn’t appear to be a concern for the 22-year-old to conclude a two-week road trip. 

Kuminga, along with Gui Santos, was the Warriors’ first player off the bench with seven minutes left in the first quarter. In the first quarter alone, Kuminga was a plus-9 while playing the rest of the quarter. He scored six efficient points, was active on the glass with four rebounds and took on the challenge of guarding Dončić. 

By halftime, Kuminga was up to 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. He was a plus-11 in 12 minutes, all while Dončić was a minus-11 as he was 3 of 11 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

The fourth-year forward badly wants to prove he should have a big role in the playoffs, showing why against the Lakers. Kuminga won with power and smarts, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Kuminga was a game-high plus-9.

He moved the ball and consistently made the right play. Not once did Kuminga drop his head or look like he was floating on the floor, instead having purpose behind every decision and making Steve Kerr close with him.

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