After falling in front of the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers also completely lost the opportunity to compete for playoff tickets this season. Once again, injuries do prove that injuries are indeed part of the game, and that a relatively deformed squad increases the team's chances of losing. It must be admitted that the Lakers' experience this season has become a textbook for the league. Now that they had been told the fact that they did not qualify for the playoffs, the Lakers naturally chose the championship-winning big three in the rotation team, sending only rotating players to challenge the Golden State Warriors.
However, even without the core of the team on the court, the Lakers' bench players played exceptionally resiliently in that game. At the beginning of the game, the Lakers, who played on the road, took the lead in entering the state, achieving a feat of domination. Horton Tucker shot 5-of-8 in the first quarter, sending 11 points and 1 steal, and Reeves also had a comprehensive stat of 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist to help the team play a 32-27 score. Golden State Warriors' star Curry continues to be absent, and the Warriors may encounter a cold counterattack from the Lakers.
But after entering the second quarter of the showdown, the Warriors, who were in a state of backwardness, quickly counterattacked accordingly. Clay shot 4 of 7 from three points in the quarter, delivering 15 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and Jordan Poole also had 2 points and 5 assists, leading the team to a 38-30 score, not only recovering the 5 points that fell behind in the first quarter, but also achieving a 3-point reversal with a halftime score of 65-62. The Warriors have seized the initiative to take the lead in the score, and Yibian can naturally take advantage of the victory to pursue and continue to expand the advantage of the lead.
In the third quarter of the competition, Clay again handed over 8 points and 2 assists, and accompanied the rest of the players on the team to play everywhere, and then took a 4-point lead with a 26-22 score. By the time they reached the crucial final-quarter showdown, the point difference between the two sides had widened to 7 points, and the Lakers did have a chance to achieve a final comeback. But unfortunately, the Golden State Warriors did not give the Lakers the opportunity to continue to fight back in the fourth quarter, always clinging to the leading score and not letting go, constantly consuming the remaining game time.
In the end, after the regular time of the fourth quarter, the Warriors once again played a 37-28 score and won the game with an aggregate score of 128-112. After losing this game, the Lakers, who had already declared that they had missed the playoffs, suffered 8 consecutive losses. However, we have to admit that even though the superstar players in the team are absent, the Lakers still have remarkable highlights. Among them, the most surprising player is Horton Tucker, who played 37 minutes and delivered a game-high score of 40 points with an efficient output of 15 of 28 shots, showing his personal tough scoring ability.
Munch's performance is also good, also sending a comprehensive stat of 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Howard, who handed over 16 points and 12 rebounds, also played his own value. However, on the other hand, the Golden State Warriors, who achieved a 16-point victory at home, scored in double figures with 6 players on their team, giving the Lakers no chance. Moreover, Clay also hit 6 three-pointers in a single game, sending a team-high score of 33 points, as well as 4 rebounds and 4 assists, effectively alleviating the team's scoring pressure. Poole also played all-Star level of skill, handing over a luxurious 19 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists.