Los Angeles Lakers win fourth-straight with victory over the Golden State Warriors
The Los Angeles Lakers (12-2) easily won their fourth-straight game with a 117-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors (7-6) on Sunday 21 November at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
The Warriors dropped their second-straight game.
Pau Gasol continued his brilliant play with a perfect game, going 10-for-10 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. The 30-year-old Spaniard finished with 28 points, nine
rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Kobe Bryant posted 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists in just 27 minutes of play while Lamar Odom finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Starting point guard Derek Fisher finished with eight points, four assists,
and three steals in 23 minutes while Shannon Brown went 3-for-3 from three-point range to finish with 17 points off the bench. No starter for the Lakers logged more than 30 minutes in the blowout.
Dorell Wright led the Warriors with 16 points and three steals while Stephen Curry chipped in with 13 points. Monta Ellis, second in the league in scoring, went 2-for-10 on the night,
finishing with only five points. Andris Biedrins finished with nine points and nine rebounds while Vladimir Radmanovic had nine points and four boards. Jeff Adrien had nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Jeremy Lin contributed 13 bench points for
the Warriors.
In a game that was never in doubt for the Lakers, the Warriors shot only 35 per cent from the field compared to 56 per cent for the Lakers. From three-point range, Los Angeles went 9-for-22
while Golden State went 3-for-20.
The Lakers got off to a dominant start, outscoring the Warriors 37-21 in the first quarter. Shooting 66 per cent from the field in the first half, Los Angeles outscored Golden State 32-20
in the second quarter, heading into the break up 69-41. The Lakers didn’t let up in the third, winning the quarter 26-19 to take a whopping 35-point lead into the final quarter. The Warriors outscored the Lakers 29-22 in the fourth but it wasn’t nearly enough.
What they said
Last night, Gasol became only the third player in NBA history to finish with at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists, without missing on at least five shots from the free throw
line and the field. The two other players are Charles Barkley, who did it more than 20 years ago, and Gasol’s team-mate Matt Barnes, who did it in their last game.
Gasol told reporters that he and Barnes talked about it after the game. "Matt told me, 'Welcome to the club.' I said, 'Happy to be in there.' It's kind of weird that it happened that way.
It's weird, but it's obviously a good sign."
When Barnes pulled off the feat against the Minnesota Timberwolves last Friday, he was 5-for-5 from the three-point line.
"I didn't have to make five or six three-pointers," said Gasol of Barnes' game. "My teammates were able to find me near the basket. I wasn't thinking about what Matt did. I was just converting."
Barnes joked about it after the game. "He was playing against little midgets, though. That's not something you play for, but 10 for 10, 8 for 8, he topped me. It's amazing."
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