WATCH GAME LIVE ON LEAGUE PASS
Here is what you need to know before the Lakers return home against the Golden State Warriors.
1) The Lakers are coming off an impressive victory over previously unbeaten Atlanta on Wednesday, in which the purple and gold snapped their 16-game road losing streak. D’Angelo Russell led 123-116 come-from-behind win by pitching in 23 points, eight assists and three blocks, while the Lakers used a 33-22 fourth quarter to upend the Hawks.
#1 was #Loading in Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/Vg9tgmaVV6
2) Playing in his hometown, former Hawk Lou Williams was instrumental in the Lakers’ blistering final period. He had scored just two points through three quarter, but exploded for 16 in the final frame, including when he stepped up and hit a 27-foot-3-pointer at the buzzer to put Los Angeles up by four with two minutes remaining.
3) Unfortunately for the Lakers, their opponent’s last game was even more eye-popping. Golden State hosted then 4-0 Oklahoma City on Thursday and wound up smashing the Thunder, 122-96. The Warriors’ newest weapon, Kevin Durant, was on another level against his former team, scoring 29 of his 39 points in the first half alone, on his way to splashing a career-best seven 3-pointers.
4) This will be the first regular-season meeting between head coach Luke Walton and his former team. Walton was an assistant for Golden State over the past two seasons, winning a championship in his first and winning an NBA-record 73 regular-season games in his second. Walton was instrumental in the latter accomplishment, compiling a 39-4 record as interim coach while Steve Kerr was recovering from back surgery.
Steve Kerr: “I know he wouldn’t have taken any other job but the Laker job to leave Golden State.”https://t.co/wUvxg9i1z9
5) Thus far, Durant has acclimated to his new team without much trouble. The four-time scoring champion is currently averaging the league’s sixth-most points (30.6) and is currently tied with Michael Jordan (1990-91) for the seventh-most consecutive 20-point games (69). With at least 20 in this contest, he will match Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970-71) for sixth.
6) Of course, the Warriors also return last year’s scoring champion and unanimous MVP: Stephen Curry. The two-time reigning Most Valuable Player hasn’t seen his production drop too much with Durant in the fold yet, as he is putting up 25.2 points per game, which is good for 11th in the NBA.
7) Along with Curry and Durant, it can be argued that Golden State has the league’s three best shooters on its team, including Klay Thompson. The son of Showtime Laker Mychal Thompson hit 4-of-8 3-pointers on Thursday, snapping a drought that saw him go just 3-of-28 to start the season, including misses on all of his previous 13 attempts.
8) The Warriors’ final All-Star remains in a shooting slump, as Draymond Green has hit just 16-of-45 from the field so far (35.6 percent). However, the jack-of-all-trades has done a little bit of everything for his team, averaging 9.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.0 blocks.
9) These teams’ last meeting saw the Lakers rise up and hand the Warriors one of their nine regular-season losses of the season. With now-retired Kobe Bryant providing guidance, the Lakers’ young backcourt led the way, as Jordan Clarkson (25 points) and D’Angelo Russell (21 points, five assists, four steals) helped push the Warriors’ record to 55-6.
It was a great team win today as the Lakers beat the Warriors 112-95. #GoLakershttps://t.co/qjBJVR4auR
10) This game will pay tribute to one of the greatest teams in franchise — and NBA — history. The Lakers will honor the 30th anniversary of their 1986-87 championship team by donning throwback Showtime uniforms against the Warriors, whom that edition of the purple and gold beat in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Note: Starting center Timofey Mozgov (left eye contusion) will be a game-time decision. Rookie Ivica Zubac started in his place on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. PT TV: Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum Deportes in L.A. ESPN everywhere else. Radio: 710 ESPN and 1330 KWKW
A video posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Nov 3, 2016 at 9:37am PDT
