Stephen Curry made eight 3-pointers and passed Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list as Golden State’s reserves outscored the Lakers’ 50-7 at Chase Center.
By Danny Fonoti
For one quarter on Friday night, Luka Doncic owned Chase Center. The Lakers star scored 21 points with five assists in the first 12 minutes, Los Angeles led 38-15 and then pushed the margin to 25 early in the second quarter. By the final buzzer the Golden State Warriors had won 112-95, their third straight victory, before 18,064 fans in their first game of NBA Cup group play.
Stephen Curry finished with 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range, along with six assists and four rebounds, according to the box score. In the fourth quarter he passed Dominique Wilkins, who scored 26,668 points, for 18th place on the N.B.A.’s career scoring list, The Associated Press reported.
The Warriors, who began the season 0-3, are now 3-3. The Lakers fell to 4-2, and the season series between the teams is even at one game apiece after Los Angeles won the opener 127-105 on Oct. 21.
A 38-15 answer
Golden State’s second quarter mirrored its first. The Warriors outscored the Lakers 38-15 in the period, and a 3-pointer by Brandin Podziemski with less than a second left tied the game at 53 at halftime. According to The A.P., that made Golden State the first team in the shot-clock era, playoffs included, to trail by 23 or more points after one quarter and be tied or ahead at the half.
The comeback began with the reserves. De’Anthony Melton scored 16 points off the bench, making 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and Georges Niang added 11 on 4-of-5 shooting, 3 of 3 from deep. Golden State’s bench outscored the Lakers’ reserves 50-7.
“This was about the bench, Georges (Niang) and Melt, Brandon (Williams), Charles Bassey,” Steve Kerr, the Warriors’ coach, said after the game, according to a transcript compiled by LetsGoWarriors.com. “I mean, all these guys came off the bench and gave us huge energy and helped get us back in the game.”
Mr. Melton described the plan against Mr. Doncic in simple terms, by the same account: “Pressure him. Pressure him. Pressure him and then send two on him and make him pass.”
Curry takes over
Mr. Curry scored 17 of his points after halftime. The play that brought the crowd to its feet came with 6:27 left in the third quarter, when a dribble combination sent Mr. Doncic stumbling to the floor and Mr. Curry paused before making a 3-pointer, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported. Mr. Curry told the Amazon Prime postgame crew that he “didn’t expect it to get that nasty,” according to ESPN.
“Nobody went their separate ways when we got punched in the mouth in the first quarter and that was great to see,” Mr. Curry said, according to LetsGoWarriors.com.
Mr. Podziemski added 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Draymond Green had nine assists and three steals. The Warriors made 22 of 46 3-point attempts and had 31 assists. The Lakers committed 22 turnovers and were called for four technical fouls, including one on Mr. Doncic late in the third quarter.
Mr. Doncic finished with 37 points on 12-of-27 shooting, with seven rebounds and five assists. Austin Reaves scored 21. The 17-point final margin was the largest in the shot-clock era for a team that trailed by 20 or more after the first quarter, The A.P. reported; the previous mark belonged to the 1976 Warriors, who trailed the Chicago Bulls 41-18 after one quarter on March 4 of that year and won by 14.
Mr. Kerr put the swing in the context of the modern league. “What I would tell you guys is that 25, you know, it’s the new 12,” he said, according to ESPN. “These games happen nightly in the league.” He added, “With the pace and the 3-point shooting, there’s just these wild swings and you just have to stay with it.”
A rookie’s rough night
The game was billed as a rematch between Mr. Doncic and Yaxel Lendeborg, the Warriors rookie who had criticized him after the teams’ first meeting, ESPN reported. Mr. Lendeborg picked up two early fouls and finished with six points, six fouls and five turnovers, a performance he called the “worst game of my life,” according to ESPN.
“Them boys had my back today,” he said. “Steph Curry did his thing.”
Mr. Curry said the team would stand by the rookie. “We have his back through all of that, and knowing that the next game, we’re going to need him,” he said, according to ESPN. “It’s all about the theme of him learning trial by fire, going through the ups and downs in front of everybody. It’s a tough demand, but I think he’s built for it.”
The first quarter was not all Mr. Doncic’s doing. Golden State committed 10 of its 17 turnovers in the opening period, and the Lakers scored 25 points off Warriors turnovers for the game.
Up next
The Warriors put their three-game winning streak on the line on Sunday night at Chase Center against the Los Angeles Clippers, then play the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
49ers: a bye, then the Raiders
The 49ers had no game this weekend. They entered their bye at 6-1 after a 29-20 loss to the Falcons in Atlanta on Oct. 25, their first defeat of the season.
Their next game, against the Las Vegas Raiders at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 8, has been moved into the league’s national late-afternoon window. Kickoff is now 1:25 p.m. Pacific on Fox, instead of 1:05 p.m. on CBS, NBC Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported.
The Raiders won their first three games before losing four straight, to Kansas City, New England, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams. They play the Jets in New Jersey on Sunday.
Danny Fonoti covers Bay Area and California sports: the teams, the players, and the business and politics of the games. More from Danny Fonoti
