Warriors at Lakers
The Golden State Warriors are 18 wins away from breaking the single-season record and are showing no signs of slowing down as they brace for the final 22 games of the campaign. The Warriors just got done taking out one of the top teams in the Western Conference and will try to keep the intensity up when they pay a final visit to Kobe Bryant and the West-worst Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Golden State was challenged in each of its last three games but found a way to pull all of them out in the end, including a 121-106 win at home over Oklahoma City on Thursday in which they outscored the Thunder 39-23 in the fourth quarter. “Fifty games over .500. I mean, it’s crazy,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “You can’t even dream this stuff up, but it’s been that kind of season for us.” It’s been the opposite kind of season for the Lakers, though the recent improvement of rookie guard D'Angelo Russell and Bryant’s retirement tour have provided some smiles. Bryant sat out to rest his sore shoulder on Friday and Los Angeles was steamrolled 106-77 by the Atlanta Hawks.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (55-5): Golden State’s depth has been key over the last two games, with the Warriors beating the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday despite being without Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala before going 11 deep against the Thunder. Marreese Speights channeled his inner Curry with a pair of 3-pointers on Thursday and is 17-of-28 from the field in the last four games while averaging just over 12 minutes. "Lot of guys don't win 55 games in three years combined,” Speights told reporters. “It's a blessing to be on this team. Keep it rolling."
ABOUT THE LAKERS (12-51): Los Angeles was without its top three scorers on Friday with Bryant (16.8 points), Jordan Clarkson (patella tendon, 15.6 points) and Lou Williams (hamstring, 15.3) nursing injuries, and the Hawks were able to focus their defensive attention on Russell. The rookie from Ohio State had scored 20 or more points in four straight games but was held to seven on 3-of-16 shooting Friday. “Just one of those nights for me,” Russell told reporters. “Same shots, same flow. Just one of those nights.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors G Klay Thompson is 10-of-37 from 3-point range over the last four games.
2. Lakers F Julius Randle recorded a double-double in five of eight games since the All-Star break.
3. Golden State has taken four straight in the series, including a 109-88 victory in Los Angeles on Jan. 5.