Warriors 112, Lakers 95
Stephen Curry collected 30 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his fourth triple-double of the season as visiting Golden State cruised past Los Angeles and clinched a playoff berth.
Marreese Speights added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Klay Thompson also scored 16 as the Warriors moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks in the race for the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference. David Lee (hamstring) returned from a seven-game absence and contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes in a reserve role for Golden State.
Jordan Hill recorded 18 points and 12 boards while Nick Young scored 25 for the Lakers (25-54), who surpassed the 1957-58 Minneapolis Lakers (19-53) for the most losses in franchise history. Ryan Kelly chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds as Los Angeles dropped its sixth straight game.
Curry scored the final seven points of the second quarter and totaled 22 in the half as the Warriors took a 58-43 lead into the break. Draymond Green’s 3-pointer stretched the lead to 20 points early in the third quarter before the Lakers crept within 71-59 with five minutes left in the period.
Green and Steve Blake each hit a 3-pointer in a 10-2 push to spread the lead back to 20 points and Golden State enjoyed a 14-point cushion heading into the fourth. Speights’ dunk with 7:33 left extended the lead to 95-74 and the Warriors held off a late run to put it away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Golden State is headed to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1991 and 1992. … Warriors C Jermaine O’Neal (knee) and F Andre Iguodala (knee) sat out on the second night of a back-to-back. … The Lakers were without PG Steve Nash (hamstring), C Chris Kaman (calf) and C Pau Gasol (vertigo).