Stephen Curry splashed in his ninth 3-pointer, putting the Warriors up by one with 4.7 seconds remaining, but LeBron James’ game-winning free throws handed the Dubs a 145-144 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center on Saturday. Curry’s 46 points and nine 3-pointers were both season highs, while James paced the Lakers with 36 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, becoming the first Laker with at least 30 points, 20 boards and 10 dimes since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1976.
CURRY AND JAMES SET EARLY TONE
Two of the NBA’s biggest stars gave Chase Center fans a flurry of early offense, combing for 20 points in the first quarter. Curry (11 points) and James (9 points) each shot 4-for-6 from the field in the quarter, but Curry hit three splashes compared to one for James. James scored the first seven points between the two superstars, but Curry responded to his lone 3-pointer just 15 seconds later with his own.
Little did they know, this game would continue for 46 more minutes and Curry and James would continue to exchange what seemed like knockout blows. Curry (46) and James (36) combined for 82 points, 27 of which came in the two overtime periods (15 for Curry, 12 for James).
THIRD QUARTER TAKEOVER
The Warriors outscored the Lakers 22-3 over a 3:24 stretch in the third quarter, including 12-0 and 10-0 bursts, jumping out to a 15-point lead (88-73). The Dubs only missed one shot during that span, hitting seven field goals. Andrew Wiggins led the way with eight points in the run. For the quarter, the Warriors outscored the Lakers 36-22.
THOMPSON AND JAMES ALL-TIME 3-POINT SHOOTOUT
Headed into Saturday’s game, Klay Thompson and LeBron James were tied for seventh on the NBA’s all-time made 3-pointers list (2,350). On Saturday, Thompson took the lead, hitting six 3-pointers, four of which came in the third quarter and his sixth sent the game into double overtime. Thompson has hit at least four 3-pointers in a quarter three times this season.
SMALL-BALL STARTING FIVE
Head Coach Steve Kerr debuted a new starting lineup on Saturday, inserting forwards Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga for Dario Šarić and Kevon Looney. Kuminga most recently scored a career-high 31 points against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday and had scored at least 20 points in five straight games. Green dished out a team-high 11 assists against the Kings, earning his first start since returning from suspension. Green and Kuminga joined Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry in the first five.
Green logged nearly 46 minutes on Saturday, tallying 14 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and two blocks. He led all players in plus-minus at plus-31. Kuminga played 43 minutes, scoring 22 points with nine boards on 8-for-16 shooting, keeping his 20-point streak alive.
