SAN FRANCISCO – California counterparts jockeying for NBA Western Conference playoff positioning meet on Saturday (Sunday morning, Singapore time) in San Francisco when the Golden State Warriors host the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers are aiming to snap a three-game losing skid, which has put them in a precarious spot in the West’s post-season picture. With Thursday’s 113-110 loss at Phoenix, Los Angeles sit in sixth place, just one game ahead of the Suns for the final guaranteed playoff berth.
“Our losses are louder than other teams’, because we’re the Lakers,” Los Angeles coach J.J. Redick said. “But we’ve been great, for the most part, in the clutch all year.”
The Lakers are part of a five-team bottleneck in the conference, with just three wins separating third-place Houston – who are tied with Denver and Minnesota in the win column – from seventh-place Phoenix.
Golden State loom in eighth place, three wins behind Los Angeles and Phoenix and 3.5 and 2.5 games back of the two overall. The Warriors are 2-2 since returning from the All-Star break with wildly divergent results.
They knocked off Denver 128-117, but followed with a 113-109 loss to a New Orleans team languishing near the West’s cellar. Golden State rebounded on Wednesday with a 133-112 rout of Memphis, in which all nine Warriors who played scored at least 9 points.
The Warriors are heading into the clash amid a bevy of injuries. They lost Jimmy Butler for the season to a torn ACL, while two-time Most Valuable Player Steph Curry remains sidelined due to a knee injury.
The Lakers, in contrast, are playing with their most complete roster of the season. LeBron James is averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, appearing in all but four games since missing the first month of the regular season.
Austin Reaves, averaging a career-best 24.6 points per game, returned from a month-long absence before the All-Star break. The two join Luka Doncic, an MVP candidate posting 32.7 points, 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr paid tribute to James before the big game.
“He sort of took the mantle from Kobe (Bryant) and Michael Jordan. That guy who is just head and shoulders above everybody athletically, but he’s taken it to a new level with the versatility,” he said.
Meanwhile in NBA action on Friday, Jalen Duren scored 33 points and the host Detroit Pistons, who are leading the Eastern Conference, rallied from a nine-point deficit late in regulation to win 122-119 in overtime against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Western leaders and reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder also needed an extra period before defeating the Denver Nuggets 127-121, thanks to 36 points from star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. REUTERS