Stephen Curry started off on fire and the game was over in two minutes. The Warriors started with a 20-4 run to start the game. Curry had 12 points in 5 minutes, including a 4-point play. It only got worse from there. Klay Thompson got involved with a 4-point play of his own.
The game was over before the Lakers could even wake up.
The starting lineup with Hill, Boozer, Johnson, Bryant, and Nash looked lethargic. They couldn’t match the energy level of the Warriors. Bryant wasn’t hitting his usual fadeaway jumpshots. Hill’s activity was neutralized by the bigman play of David Lee and Andrew Bogut.
And it continued to get worse.
With 3:00 left in the 1st quarter, the Lakers were down 28-7. The Warriors were shooting 69% from the field. Nash tried to give Wesley Johnson a fast break attempt with a no-look, over the shoulder pass from a tip, but Wesley didn’t have his usual explosion and missed at the rim.
The Lakers were shooting 2 of 21 from the field at this point.
Once Jordan Hill got substituted out for Julius Randle, there was some energy to the front-line, but the shooters kept shooting. Curry and Klay combined for 22 points. The Lakers continued to shoot poorly, almost ending the 1st quarter on 4 of 27 from the field.
Wayne Ellington, Julius Randle, and Ronnie Price added the energy that the starters lacked. Price hit 3, 20′ jumpshots over Stephen Curry. Ellington hit a jumpshot and a nice slashing layup in transition. Randle hit a running hook from 7′ and got an And-1. He also hit a midrange 17′ jumpshot.
At the half, the score was 63-36 in the Warriors’ favor. Jeremy Tyler hit a nice 16′ jumpshot with 2 seconds left on the clock heading into halftime.
The Warriors continued the barrage into the second half.
The Lakers put on a small spurt in the third quarter, but the game was long over. Jordan Hill hit a step-back 15′ jumpshot. Kobe hit a pull up from 19′. Boozer hit a couple of mid-range jumpshots.
That was pretty much it. Stephen Curry finished the game with 25 points on 8 of 11 from the field, 4 of 7 behind the arc.
Outside of a nice dunk from Jeremy Tyler, there was nothing to report about the fourth quarter that was positive.
Wayne Ellington and Robert Sacre finished tied with a team high of 12 points each, both on 5 of 9 shooting.
The final score is the Golden State Warriors 116, the Lakers, 75.