For one quarter Friday night, Golden State's floor belonged to the Lakers: a 14-0 opening burst, a 38-15 lead after twelve minutes and a cushion that reached 25. Then the Warriors won the second quarter 38-15, tied it 53-53 at the half and pulled away for a 112-95 win in the NBA Cup.
The Script Flips
The turn came fast. At 40-15 early in the second quarter, the Warriors ripped off 13 straight, and JJ Redick had to call timeout at 40-28 with 9:30 left in the half. The Lakers steadied and pushed back to 51-37, but Golden State answered with a 10-0 run that cut it to 51-47 and erased the lead before halftime. In the first quarter the Lakers had looked like a team three games into a power-rankings climb. In the second they looked like a club on its second straight road game. Stephen Curry led the comeback and finished with 31 points and six assists. Georges Niang went 3 for 3 from deep and De'Anthony Melton 3 for 4, and the Lakers never got the night back.
Grading the Leads
Doncic, cleared after missing the Clippers win with a sore back, gets an A-minus: 37 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a +12 that was the best on the team. Walker Kessler earns a B: 3 of 4 from the floor, seven rebounds, four blocks and a +3. Austin Reaves gets a D. He shot 4 of 10, missed all three of his threes, turned it over six times and finished at -10, the worst mark on the roster. Quentin Grimes, at +4, was the only bench player on the right side of the ledger, while Sandro Mamukelashvili went 0 for 2 and finished at -4. Redick closed with Reaves, Doncic, Kessler, Jake LaRavia and Matisse Thybulle, and LaRavia's -6 summed up how little separation that group found.
What It Costs
The loss drops Los Angeles to 4-2 and from fourth to fifth in the West, level with the 4-2 Mavericks in sixth and two games clear of 11th. The Warriors move to 3-3 and sit tenth. Help may be close. Ziaire Williams has been upgraded to day-to-day with a left foot injury, and he and Adou Thiero both carry an estimated return of Nov. 1. That is the date the Raptors visit, a day before the Heat come in, before a Nov. 4 trip to Sacramento. Doncic has delivered 52, 41 and now 37 in his recent outings. To turn that into wins, the Lakers need Reaves's ball security back, and they need to hold a 25-point lead for more than a quarter.
Who won the Lakers vs. Warriors NBA Cup game on Oct. 30?
The Warriors won 112-95. The Lakers had led 38-15 after the first quarter and by as many as 25, but the game was tied 53-53 at halftime.
How did Doncic play in his return against Golden State?
He scored 37 points with seven rebounds and five assists, and his +12 was the best on the team. He had been cleared after missing time with a sore back.
