Los Angeles Lakers get easy pre-season win against Golden State Warriors
Even with Phil Jackson missing the game with flu-like symptoms and Kobe Bryant sitting out as he rested his surgically repaired left knee, the Los Angeles Lakers (3-4) still managed to
beat the Golden State Warriors (3-4) 120-99 in a pre-season game last night in San Diego.
Assistant coach Brian Shaw, filling in for head coach Jackson, directed an NBA team for the first time in his career and said his approach to the game didn’t change all that much.
"To tell you the truth, it felt the same," Shaw said. "My demeanor isn't one where I'm demonstrative on the sideline. I did have to rattle a couple of guys at half-time to get them going.
It felt like we were kind of going through the motions in the first half."
While Bryant, who will be chasing his sixth NBA championship this season, did suit up for the game, he never saw the floor. The 32-year-old has been playing limited minutes during the
pre-season as he continues to fully recover from his off-season surgery.
"He's coming along, working diligently every day,'' Shaw said. "The main thing for us is to have him as strong as possible Tuesday night when we open the season.''
The Lakers were led by the strong play of Pau Gasol, their three-time NBA All-Star power forward, who finished the game with 23 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in 26 minutes of
play. Point guard Steve Blake, entering his first season in a Lakers’ uniform, had 18 points and seven assists off the bench while Lamar Odom had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Shannon Brown scored 13 points for Los Angeles while Matt Barnes
and Ron Artest each chipped in with 10.
When asked about the solid play of Lakers’ reserves Brown, Blake, and Barnes, Gasol had nothing but praise for the trio.
“They’re playing well. They’re playing together,” he said. “They’re making plays defensively and offensively. Obviously, tonight they were very sharp so that was the maybe the difference
in the game.”
The Warriors, who fired their long-time coach Don Nelson last month, were led by second-year player Stephen Curry, who scored 19 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
David Lee finished with 17 points and six rebounds while Andris Biedrins had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Gasol had 13 of his 23 points in the first half, helping the Lakers build an 11-0 lead in the first quarter. But the Warriors made a run, ending the first half down only three points 55-52.
The Lakers then took over the game in the second half, outscoring the Warriors by 18 points in the last two quarters for the easy win.
Sasha Vujacic scored nine points in his first game back for the Lakers after suffering a concussion last week, forcing him to miss three games.
Luke Walton, who had been suffering from a strained hamstring, played in his first game of the pre-season for Los Angeles, scoring five points in 11 minutes.
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