National Basketball Association

Warriors get routed by Lakers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors in an ugly rout.

It seems like the Warriors start slow almost every game and it’s starting to get ridiculous. Golden State was down by nine after an ugly first quarter and the second quarter didn’t get much better trailing 65-49 at halftime.

The Warriors would eventually cut the Laker lead to seven and even six, but the Lakers responded with runs that would keep the Warriors at bay. Turnovers and wide-open three-pointers missed doomed the Warriors in this 117-97 shellacking they received.

A combined 2-of-20 from beyond the arc from the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson won’t get it done on the offensive end, including 0-of-10 from three by Curry, ending his three-point shooting streak with at least one three in 157 straight games.

The three-point shooting was the least of the Golden State’s worries tonight as they allowed 117 points to a young Lakers team and committed 20 turnovers. Teams won’t win many games when they commit 20 turnovers. Interior defense was again another problem for the Warriors as time and time again they let guys such as Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. get offensive tip-ins and dunks.

The first half told the story as the Warriors committed 9 turnovers in that half and allowed 65 points to a Lakers team many people have written off, but after this convincing win against the heavily-favored Warriors, some opinions might change.

Kevin Durant was the only Warrior with a great shooting night going for 27 points on 10-of-16 from the field and made two out of his four three-point attempts. He continues to show why he is one of the greatest and more efficient scorers the league has ever seen.

Julius Randle for the Lakers had 20 points and 14 rebounds and was a beast on the offensive glass. D’angelo Russell had 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting and Lou Williams came off the bench and did what he does best: score. He had 20 points including several key shots to stem the tide for the Lakers and keep the Warriors from reaching any closer.

Hopefully, Golden State can make a few adjustments on the defensive end and start hitting some shots from beyond the arc because they have to deal with the long-limbed beast that is Anthony Davis on Monday when the Warriors play the Pelicans.