Lakers Throttle Warriors in the Bay
Tonight, your Los Angeles Lakers traveled to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center.
The last stretch of games for Los Angeles had not been favorable to the Purple and Gold. Coming into tonight, the Lakers had suffered three straight losses. A blowout against the Celtics and back-to-back losses from game winners led them into this game tonight.
Tonight was a golden opportunity to break the cycle as the Lakers were playing the Warriors without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, or Kristaps Porzingis. That’s exactly what they did.
THE LAKERS DOMINATE THE WARRIORS TO GET A MUCH-NEEDED WIN 🙏
The Lakers were firing on ALL cylinders tonight, led by Birthday Luka and LeBron 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JaFFfeOorD
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 1, 2026
Fast Start From LA, Especially LeBron James
If you are a Lakers fan, you know that Luka Dončić is the king of the first quarter. He leads the league in first-quarter PPG. Tonight, the first quarter, and frankly, the first half, belonged to the King.
LeBron James came out swinging tonight, going 2/2 from three in the first quarter and finishing the half 4/4 with 18 total points. In the month of February, LeBron had been averaging a putrid 21% from three, so tonight was a sight for sore eyes.
Birthday Boy Luka Found His Groove
While it was LeBron who dominated the first half against his old foes, the Warriors, Luka was sure to get in the mix on his 27th birthday in the second half.
After only scoring 10 first-half points, Luka came into the second half blazing, instantly going 4/6 from three in the third quarter alone. He was pulling up from wherever he wanted and draining deep balls with impunity.
The NBA’s leading scorer finished with 26 points and eight assists while not having to play a minute of the fourth quarter.
Everything Went Right Tonight
The Lakers started fast and, truthfully, never looked back. It was a textbook definition of a wire-to-wire win as they controlled the game all night long. Not only did everything go right for Los Angeles within the Chase Center, but around the rest of the league as well.
To climb the standings in this late-season playoff push, the Lakers needed the Houston Rockets to lose to the Miami Heat tonight. That’s exactly what happened.
The Lakers are still the 6th seed in the West, but are now only two games behind the Rockets in the 3rd seed; certainly manageable.
Los Angeles will take the court yet again tomorrow night when they take on the Sacramento Kings back at Crypto.com Arena at 7:30 PM PST.
