Warriors at Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers matched the franchise record for losses in a season while giving up an NBA season-high 145 points on Tuesday. The Lakers will try to avoid a record-setting loss and hold an opponent under 140 when they host the Golden State Warriors on Friday. The Warriors are on the second night of a back-to-back after falling to Denver on Thursday and are a game up for the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference.
The Lakers are losers of five straight and are one game ahead of the Utah Jazz in the race to avoid the worst record in the West. Tuesday’s 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets at home marked the third time in just over a month that Los Angeles has surrendered at least 140 points, and opponents are putting up an average of 120.6 in the last five games. The Warriors squandered a 20-point lead on Thursday only to storm back and take a 99-98 edge with 4.7 seconds left before getting stunned in the final second.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (48-30): David Lee missed his seventh straight game Thursday and is questionable for the rest of the regular season with damage to the nerve that connects the upper hamstring to the lower back. Golden State clearly missed Lee’s presence on the glass against the Nuggets, who built up a 63-38 rebounding advantage and 25-6 on the offensive boards. The loss kept the Warriors from clinching a playoff spot and left them only a game in front of both the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks. Golden State plays three of its final four games on the road, but only one (Sunday at Portland) against a playoff team.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (25-53): Los Angeles already broke the record for most losses since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1960 and can snap a tie with the 1957-58 Minneapolis squad with one more setback. The Lakers often appear disinterested on the defensive end, and multiple injuries to some of their better defenders has not helped. Steve Nash played the first half of Tuesday’s game — just long enough to pass Mark Jackson for third place on the all-time assist list — but is unlikely to play Friday due to a hamstring injury, while two of the best interior defenders on the team — Pau Gasol (vertigo) and Chris Kaman (calf) — are doubtful as well. Wing defenders Kobe Bryant, Kent Bazemore and Xavier Henry already have been shut down for the season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors have taken two of the first three this season but fell at Los Angeles 102-95 on Nov. 22.
2. Lakers G Nick Young scored 32 points in 23 minutes Tuesday and has hit multiple 3-pointers in 10 of the last 11 contests.
3. Golden State G Klay Thompson is 15-of-22 from 3-point range in the last four games.