Warriors find two beautiful elements in routine win vs. Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO – For much of the night Thursday, the Warriors did not look like a team sharpening its teeth for the playoffs. Careless on offense and foul-prone on defense, they were sloppy enough to keep a partial Lakers squad in the game until the final five minutes.
There were, however, two components in an otherwise unexceptional 128-112 victory that Golden State would love to retain through the final weekend of the regular season and into the playoffs.
The first is fabulous and productive ball movement. The Warriors recorded a season-high-tying 39 assists, the first time they topped 35 since Feb. 24, when they had 36 in a rout of the Portland Trail Blazers. That pushed the total over the last three games to 98, an average of 32.6.
“That’s Warriors basketball,” said Klay Thompson, who had a team-high 33 points and four assists. “We’ve got to build off it.”
The Warriors’ goal for every game, as stated by coach Steve Kerr, is to reach 30 assists. They’re 25-1 when they hit the goal.
“If you’ve been watching us when we were struggling, the ball would stay on one side of the court and we had a lot of one-pass shots, but even more zero-pass shots,” said Andre Iguodala, who accounted for seven dimes in 21 minutes off the bench. “Steve kept trying to drive that home in terms of the ball not moving. When the ball moves, the defense moves. In the NBA, it is very hard to stop the offense when the game is played the right way.”
The second component is Thompson maintaining a rhythmic flow. He scored 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 6-of-10 from distance. This follows a 36-point performance, on 14-of-28 shooting, including 8-of-17 from deep, against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
More to the point, this marks the first time this season that Thompson has posted consecutive games with at least 30 points.
“It was pretty easy to ride him tonight,” Kerr said. “We’re going to have to have him playing at a high level, and Draymond (Green) and Steph (Curry) and Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins). We need those guys to play well. In the playoffs, your best players have to perform.
“I really like where Klay is now. He’s strung together some good games and he just looks more comfortable and more relaxed out there.”
When Klay is stroking it as he did these past two games, he alone can generate enough scoring to keep the Warriors afloat, if not carry them entirely.
“When you’ve had the time off that I did, it’s tough,” said Thompson, who missed 31 months before returning on Jan. 9. “No matter how many simulations or scrimmages you do, it’s so hard to replicate the NBA speed. To have the amount of games under me that I’ve had, and play the minutes I’ve played, 33 minutes … playing real minutes now, and it’s given me confidence. I feel like myself. It’s been encouraging.”
The Warriors came out like a team going nowhere, turning the ball over and gifting 10 points to the Lakers in the first 12 minutes. The most ferocious player on the floor was Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker, who scored a game-high 40 points and brought a determination that bordered on savagery.
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Which is what, in the final week of the regular season, with seeding at stake, the Warriors were supposed to be doing. Their forgettable first half included nine turnovers, gifting LA 12 points, and 12 fouls, which gave the Lakers 20 free throws.
That largesse is why the Warriors forged only a two-point halftime lead against the Lakers, who were without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook or Carmelo Anthony.
“The fouls all came early,” Kerr said. “They came off of transition, so either turnovers or shot turnovers. We missed a bunch of layups early and then all of a sudden, it’s 4-on-3. And when you’re at a disadvantage and in transition, you’re more likely to foul. Felt like a lot of them were transition fouls and then we just had some ill-advised ones.”
The Warriors dialed up their intensity in the second half, limiting the Lakers to 22 points in the third quarter and pouring in 37 of their own in the fourth.
This is, overall, not the kind of performance the Warriors care to repeat.
But they would welcome the team-oriented offense and the proficiency of Thompson’s game because both would go a long way when it matters most.
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