Golden State Warriors Defeat Los Angeles Lakers 120-105
The Golden State Warriors faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center last Thursday, coming out of the enemy’s territory with a 120-105 win.
While it was Kobe Bryant‘s return to Staples Center that had everyone in Los Angeles raving, it was Golden State’s Klay Thompson — a native of Southern California whose father, Mychal, played for the Lakers in the late 80’s — who stole the show after he led all scorers with 25 points in three quarters played.
Thompson was so impressive, he had the “Black Mamba” praising him for his performance and overall growth as an NBA player.
"“Not many players in the league can shoot the long ball and post up and, you know, midrange game,” Bryant said after his team’s loss to the Warriors.“He can pull up left, he can pull up right, he can turn left shoulder, he can turn right shoulder. (Klay) has the whole package.”"
Thompson also added three rebounds, two assists and one block on 69.2 percent shooting from the field, 83.3 percent (5-for-6) from behind the arc.
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It’s these kinds of early showings — in addition to his impressive display overseas playing with USA Men’s Basketball during the FIBA Basketball World Cup — that contribute to talk of Thompson deserving a max contract extension.
Everyone remembers the offseason trade rumors involving Kevin Love and how Thompson was reportedly at the center of that debacle, ultimately resulting in the Warriors missing out on Love because of their affinity for Thompson.
Though extension talks have reportedly remained at a standstill according to Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area, Thompson is hopeful a solution will be found by the extension deadline at the end of the month.
"“I hope it gets resolved, but it’s not going to hold me back,” Thompson said. “I’m still going to go out and do what I do.“Life is great.”"
Per Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group, Thompson’s backcourt mate Stephen Curry believes that his fellow Splash Brother is “nowhere near his ceiling,” citing that Thompson is only in the fourth year of his career and has shown much improvement over that time.
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The sharpshooting All-Star also made a large contribution to the win over the Lakers, tallying 20 points, five rebounds and six assists in 27 minutes played. It was a much better night for the franchise point guard, who fouled out of the team’s last preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
While Thompson and Curry’s efficiency are certainly worth highlighting, there were a couple of health scares that left Warriors faithful gripping their sofas as they watched the last half unfold.
First was Andre Iguodala, who was kept out of the starting lineup for the second half after reportedly suffering a broken nose in the second quarter.
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Head coach Steve Kerr said after the game that Iguodala would likely be fitted for a protective mask so that he would be able to play through the injury, which is great news considering how central Iguodala is to the team on both ends.
Before he was taken out of the game, Iguodala had accumulated seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a block in 16 minutes of play.
The second player that was taken out due to an on-floor injury was Harrison Barnes, who was first reported to have suffered a wrist injury after colliding with the Lakers’ Wesley Johnson.
Turns out it was actually a shoulder injury, which Barnes was able to shake off to come back in the game. He ended the game with 11 points, two rebounds, two steals and a block in 24 minutes off the bench.
Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
The last player that had an injury scare was Andrew Bogut, who went down after getting clipped in the hip area while setting a screen on LA’s Jeremy Lin. Never exactly the best news considering Bogut’s reputation for being prone to injury.
Though Bogut got up slowly and was kept out of the rest of the game, Kerr later confirmed that the big man is indeed okay and ready to go for the team’s next outing. The Aussie big man had four points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks and a steal in the victory.
While much of the team got to see time on the court against the Lakers, it was noticeable that guard Leandro Barbosa was kept out of the game.
Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Per Rusty Simmons of San Francisco Chronicle, Kerr had said earlier during training camp that he’d want players that participated in the FIBA tournament to get some extra rest. Makes sense that Barbosa, who played for Brazil during the FIBA games, would get some downtime.
Kerr also added that he wanted to take a better look at Brandon Rush and give him more time on the court after playing him only five minutes against the Clippers. Rush looked great as he tallied eight points and four rebounds.
Shaun Livingston (toe surgery) and Festus Ezeli (shin inflammation) are still out indefinitely.
Warriors preseason will continue on Sunday with Golden State once again taking on the Los Angeles Lakers at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.