After stealing Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals the Los Angeles Lakers were unable to extend the lead to two games. Instead, the Golden State Warriors defended their home court with a blowout win over the Lake Show in Game 2.
The purple and gold returned the favor in Game 3 with a blowout win of its own, defeating Golden State 127-97. With the win, the Lakers maintain home-court advantage throughout the rest of the series with a 2-1 lead.
There was not one primary standout for the Lake Show as the team got big games out of its best three players. The trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell carried the team with 67 combined points. Davis had a double-double with 13 rebounds and LeBron had a near triple-double.
That still is not the biggest takeaway from this game. The biggest takeaway has to do with the fans in attendance, who really are the biggest key to this series and the entire playoff run.
Lakers fans prove they give their team the best home-court advantage in the NBA Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers have played four games at the Crypto.com Arena in the NBA Playoffs and have won all four. Three of the four wins were relatively comfortable as well. The Lakers have won their home playoff games by 10 points, six points (overtime), 40 points and 30 points.
The casual NBA fan forgot just how great Lakers fans are and how much they can swing games. We have not seen a full playoff crowd since 2013 and even then, there was not much to cheer about as Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles right before the postseason.
The Lake Show has not been able to play in front of a full, exciting crowd in a decade. LA fans are reminding every other NBA fan that they are among the best, if not the best, fanbases in the entire sport.
This is important as the Warriors are the worst road playoff team in the entire league, finishing the regular season with a 10-31 record. There was nothing in this game that indicated that the Warriors can overcome this road crowd and that is a great sign for the purple and gold.
Los Angeles now has the chance to extend the series lead to 3-1 with another home game on Monday night. And while nothing is guaranteed, the team has to like its chances considering it will have the support of its home crowd behind it.