Lakers Game Observations: Game 80 @ Warriors
Lakers snap losing streak, find some of the lost spirit along the way
After an emotional, rocky week, the Lakers steadied the ship, beating the undermanned Golden State Warriors 119–103. It was a much-needed win that prevented their first four-game losing streak of the season. And with just two games left, it ensures this team will go the entire year without such a skid for the first time since 2011–12, another sign of their resilience.
Postgame, JJ Redick pointed to this as the game where the group found its spirit and path again. He admitted that he and the staff overlooked the emotional toll of that dreadful night in Oklahoma City, when the team lost both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves to injuries. Redick also took accountability, saying that trying to inject emotion and fire up the group in the rematch against OKC was not the right call.
Still, as much as this win was needed to prevent the team from spiraling further, listening to both Redick and LeBron James postgame made one thing clear: accepting the current situation will take time. That chemistry, the winning formula they had been searching for all year and finally found in March, was taken away so abruptly… and whether they want it or not, it lingers in the back of their minds.
The Lakers won’t have much time for second thoughts. They face the Phoenix Suns tonight on the second night of a back-to-back, in a crucial game to hold on to the fourth spot and home-court advantage against a likely first-round opponent in the Rockets.
Today’s notes:
A turnover fest in a game without star creators
LeBron dominates in big vs small matchup (🎞️VIDEO)
Team responds to JJ (🎞️VIDEO)
The stabilizing presence of Luke Kennard (🎞️VIDEO)
Searching for nine: the missing two
1-A turnover fest in a game without star creators
It was a much-needed win for the Lakers, but it wasn’t pretty. Both teams, missing their top two scoring options, had to find new ways to generate offense with unusual lineups, leading to plenty of mistakes.
Turnovers came in waves on both ends. The Lakers struggled to start the second and close the third, while the Warriors had issues at the start of the third and fourth, adding up to a sloppy, high-turnover game for both sides. For the Lakers, four players had three or more turnovers, a downside of increased ball movement and less centralized handling with Dončić and Reaves out.
However, the Lakers overcame their sloppiness with elite shotmaking, while the Warriors couldn’t. The Lakers shot 55% from three, with several players having big nights from deep: LeBron James went 3-of-5, LaRavia 4-of-5, Hachimura 2-of-4, Bronny James 2-of-4, and Nick Smith Jr. caught fire late, hitting 4 of his 5 threes in the fourth quarter.
