Warriors at Lakers
The last time the Los Angeles Lakers played the Golden State Warriors they won the game but lost LeBron James indefinitely. James is nearing a return but won't be in the lineup on Monday, when the Lakers host a Warriors team that is thriving with wins in seven straight and just unveiled a starting lineup featuring five All-Stars.
Golden State was embarrassed at home 127-101 by Los Angeles on Christmas Day to kick off a stretch with three losses in five games but has since surged back into first place in the Western Conference and welcomed center DeMarcus Cousins to the lineup when he made his team and season debut in Friday's 112-94 win at the Los Angeles Clippers. "Felt like a kid on Christmas," Cousins told reporters after collecting 14 points, six rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes. "It's been a long journey. This is probably one of the best days of my life." The Lakers suffered another key injury on Saturday, when point guard Lonzo Ball had to be carried off the floor after suffering a left ankle sprain. Ball handed out 11 assists in 22 minutes but was missed down the stretch and in overtime as the Lakers were denied a chance to earn a third straight win with a 138-134 overtime setback at Houston.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (32-14): Golden State will work Cousins into the rotation slowly and is confident he will only add to the chemistry of a team averaging 130.7 points over the last seven contests. "I like that he's gonna keep people on us at the 3-point line," forward Kevin Durant told reporters of Cousins. "I like that he was running the floor, he set a screen. I mean he just played his game - 15 minutes, he had 14 and six. You turn that to 25 minutes, that's an easy 20 and 10. I like where he's going, good first step, and hopefully he keeps moving forward." The Warriors were plus-21 in Cousins' time on the floor Friday before he fouled out in the fourth quarter.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (25-22): Los Angeles dropped to 5-8 in 13 games without James after Saturday's loss, and Ball going down early in the third quarter took something out of the team. "Right when Lonzo went down, I think that's when it went away," Lakers forward Brandon Ingram told reporters. "We lost momentum a little bit. We got away from what we were doing a little bit. I think we were still doing the same things, but some of the pressure went down a little bit and the defensive rebounding. But that's all things we can control." Ball, who had x-rays come back negative, is going down just as point guard Rajon Rondo (finger) gets set to make his return, though both are expected to sit out Monday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors PG Stephen Curry is averaging 35.2 points on 54.2 percent shooting (50.7 percent from beyond the arc) while connecting on all 24 of his free throw attempts over the last five games.
2. Lakers PF Kyle Kuzma scored 32 points in each of the last two games and is 23-of-39 from the floor over that span.
3. Golden State had a seven-game winning streak in the series come to an end with the Christmas Day setback.