Warriors take over best record in West with ‘awful’ win over the Lakers
LOS ANGELES — Steve Kerr took a frustrated timeout before the Warriors had a point. Golden State missed its first four 3s, including two Steph Curry clangs, giving him 12 long-range bricks on 12 attempts in Los Angeles this season. The Staples Center was working its Warrior voodoo magic early.
But it didn’t last. Moments after Curry’s second miss, Kevin Durant pinpointed a cross-court pass through traffic into Curry’s hands. He rose and, finally, nailed a left corner 3. The Curry hex was lifted. A Warrior barrage followed, resulting in a 109-85 Friday night win over the Lakers.
It was the Warriors’ second straight blowout of the Lakers and 10th straight win overall, pushing them to 14-2 on the season. Earlier Friday night, the Clippers fell in Detroit, dropping them to 14-3 and giving the Warriors sole possession of the West’s top seed for the first time this season.
This Golden State victory, unlike many this season, was built on the back of a stingy end-to-end defensive effort, making a solid but not spectacular offensive performance hold up.
The Lakers entered the night at a disadvantage. They were missing three talented offensive players: D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Nick Young. Without the trio, the Lakers struggled to create any consistent string of good looks.
The Warriors were sturdy on the perimeter and disruptive even when the Lakers got past the frontline. Golden State blocked 10 more shots on Friday night, upping the per game total to 6.2 this season, tied for the league’s third most. They became the first team with three games of double-digit blocks.
“They shot 35 percent from the field,” Durant said. “That’s what you want.”
Zaza Pachulia was the surprise contributor in this category on Friday night. He entered the night with three blocks combined in the season’s first 15 games. He had three blocks against the Lakers.
Included among them: Pachulia got talented Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram on an isolation switch, stayed with him on a dribble move and then stuffed his shot. It was a lowlight of a rough performance for Ingram, who…