Los Angeles Lakers (51-29) beat Golden State Warriors (37-43) 119-103 on the road on Thursday, April 9, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Lakers struck first, taking the opening quarter 28-23 and a 5-point lead after one. The Warriors cut into the deficit with a 26-25 second quarter, though the Lakers still led by 4 at halftime.
The Lakers won the third 29-24 to create some separation, taking a 9-point lead into the fourth. The Lakers took the fourth 37-30; the Lakers finished the job for a 119-103 regulation win.
What decided it
The Lakers got more from their shots, finishing at 71.3% effective field-goal shooting compared with 56.2% for the Warriors. The Lakers took better care of the ball, turning it over on 18.4% of possessions compared with 21% for the Warriors. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Warriors did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 37.5% against 25.8%. The Lakers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 91 possessions per team, the Lakers produced 130.2 points per 100 possessions to 112.7 for the Warriors.
Who made the difference
LeBron James was the game's biggest individual force for LAL: 26 pts, 8 reb, 11 ast on 11-17 shooting. His Game Score of 26.5 led everyone. His team was +19 with him on the floor.
Charles Bassey (12 pts, 13 reb, 1 ast) and LeBron James (26 pts, 8 reb, 11 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 54% for the Lakers.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Los Angeles Lakers lead 5-2.
The Lakers are now 51-29, and the Warriors are 37-43. The Lakers last five before this game: W-W-L-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.