Lakers take Game 1 on the road over Warriors

by Ben Cooper

The Lakers stole Game 1 against the Warriors on the road in San Francisco. They came away with a 117-112 victory.

Anthony Davis had a dominant performance, finishing with 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Davis is the key for the Lakers in this series, as Golden State doesn’t have a dominant big.

Davis played the entire 2nd half and was very effective. He showed up in Game 1 and was a huge reason why they stole this one on the road.

D’Angelo Russell came alive in the 3rd quarter and had a great 2nd half. Russell had 19 points and six assists, with a clutch layup over Andrew Wiggins in the final minutes.

LeBron James didn’t have the best game but finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. He contributed heavily on the defensive end of the floor with three blocks, which made up for his inefficient shooting night at 9-24 from the field and 1-8 from three.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense on Stephen Curry was phenomenal throughout the game.

The defense on the Warriors' possession with a chance to tie the game was great. Vanderbilt and Austin Reaves double-teamed Curry, forcing him to give the ball up. It led to a deep three by Jordan Poole, which missed. LA then got the rebound and was able to get Dennis Schroder the ball on the inbound, where he proceeded to hit both free throws to seal the victory.

Schroder contributed well to the offense, with 19 points.

Curry still ended up with 27 points, but the Lakers' defense didn’t allow him to dominate throughout the course of the game. He had his stretches where he couldn’t miss as great players do, but LA’s defense did enough to contain him.

Poole and Klay Thompson had stretches where they shot the ball exceptionally well. Poole had 21 points on 7-15 shooting and 6-11 from three off the bench. Thompson had 25 points on 9-25 shooting and 6-16 from behind the arc.

He had it going early but struggled to find his rhythm late.

The Lakers will need to adjust in Game 2 by getting up on the Warriors’ shooters. This will include Davis helping on the screens to contest shooters.

LA was able to get to the free throw line, hitting 25-29 free throws. Golden State hit 5-6 from the line. The Warriors were dominant from three, hitting 21-53 from downtown while the Lakers were 6-25.

This was a great Game 1 win for Darvin Ham and LA. The Lakers now have a 1-0 lead in the series, with a chance to take a 2-0 lead on Thursday night in San Francisco against the defending champions. 

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