Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
On Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors couldn’t get the job done.
After a grueling series against the Sacramento Kings, in which they won in seven games, they got to head home for Game 1 of their series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, the Lakers got the best of them on both ends, leading to a Golden State loss.
With Anthony Davis leading the charge, the Lakers were able to shut down the paint, and Jarred Vanderbilt helped slow down Stephen Curry. However, after the game, LeBron James said that the Lakers didn’t do well enough at stopping Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole, noting a few lulls in their defensive pressure and urging them to do better.
“We got to do a better job,” James said post-game. “I think, even though late, they made a run, and I think throughout the second half, just only giving up 48 points, that’s really good. But we had a couple of lulls where we allowed those guys—Steph, Klay, and Jordan—to get some looks. And if we’re really tuned in, it won’t happen.”
Curry finished the night with 27 points on 6-of-13 shooting from deep, Thompson had 25 points on 6-of-16 shooting from deep, and Poole put up 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from deep.
James stated that since those three stars are always going to find a way to get good looks from distance, the Lakers can’t afford to give them any extra ones because of their own mistakes.
“They’re going to get their looks anyways, so we can’t have our own personal-problem mistakes,” said James. “So, we got to be better. We got to be better. We loved the game plan, but we got to be better as the guys on the floor.”
Warriors’ Steve Kerr on Jordan Poole Shot
Perhaps the most high-profile three-point shot taken on the night game with 10 seconds left in the game. Down three points, the Warriors had the ball, and Poole pulled up from well beyond the arc.
Rather than pass up the shot to Curry or Thompson, he took it upon himself, drawing criticism from Twitter and the general public. However, after the game, head coach Steve Kerr said that he liked the shot.
“Pretty good look,” Kerr said via 95.7 The Game. “That’s a shot he can hit. Really happy with that possession. Jordan had six threes already. It was a great shot for us.”
LeBron James on Warriors’ Stephen Curry
Prior to the series, most of the hype that was generated surrounded the draw of a matchup between James and Curry. Before Game 1, James told Mark Medina of NBA.com about how much respect he has for the Warriors superstar.
“He puts in the work,” James said . “When you put in the work, 9-time-out-of-10, you’re going to see results and he’s done that, throughout his whole entire career. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Steph and everything he’s been able to accomplish on the floor. Not only on the floor, but off the floor too. It’s great to have people like that in this league that can set an example for generations to come.”
