Here are the scores, updates, and results of the NBA 2020-2021 Play-In Tournament match between the Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) against the Golden State Warriors (GSW) on May 20, 2021 (All times are in Philippine Standard Time) at the Staples Center.
LeBron James outscored the Warriors with a deep, go-ahead three-pointer on the Staples Center logo to give the Lakers a 3-point lead. After that, the Warriors did not manage to respond with their own three-pointer to tie the game, instead, they lost and will play a matchup where they will go against the Memphis Grizzlies on May 22 at the Chase Center.
“The King” tallied 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for his 5th triple-double of the season. Anthony Davis finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, ending the game with a double-double. Not only that, but Davis also scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter alone where he dominated.
The Lakers will advance to the playoffs and earned the 7th spot after defeating the Warriors. The defending champions will meet the Suns at Phoenix on May 24.
In addition, the Lakers were trailing by 13 points at the end of the first half. The Lakers squad then stood up in the second half where they competed against the opposing team throughout the rest of the game, scoring 35 points on the Warriors’ 24 in the third quarter while chipping in 26 points against the Warriors’ 21 in the last quarter.
Kyle Kuzma, who had six points and six rebounds while coming off from the bench, gave the Lakers their first lead in the first minutes of the fourth quarter with a score of 81-79.
The speedy guards of the Lakers, namely Schroder and Caruso, contributed well in the scoring department. Caruso added 14 points while Schroder who had a rough game in terms of converting his shots, added 12 points.
Stephen Curry had a phenomenal game against the Lakers, but it was not enough to bring them down and help his team go into the playoffs. Curry finished with 37 big points and collected 7 rebounds. Moreover, the two-time MVP hit 6 out of his 9 three-point looks against the Lakers while playing for 41 minutes.
Andrew Wiggins contributed well for the Warriors, scoring 21 points while Bazemore had 10.
Draymond Green was still versatile as usual for the Warriors, grabbing 9 rebounds, diming 8 assists, stealing 3 possessions, and blocked 3 shots. Furthermore, Green did not convert a field goal in his 5 attempts but still had 2 points after hitting both shots from the charity stripe.
The Lakers will go straight to the playoffs where they will meet the Phoenix Suns as they compete in the first round while the Warriors will have one last game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lakers vs Warriors
28-22; 27-20; 24-35; 21-26
The scores:
Lakers (103) – Davis 25, James 22, Caruso 14, Schroder 12, Caldwell-Pope 10, Kuzma 6
Warriors (100) – Curry 37, Wiggins 21, Bazemore 10, Poole 10, Toscano-Andersor 9