Who said the 2015-16 Los Angeles Lakers' season was only about the Kobe Bryant retirement tour?The 13-51 Lakers pulled off a stunning upset Sunday with a 112-95 victory over the 55-6 Golden State Warriors at Staples Center and may hold even done their part to prevent Stephen Curry's team from eventually eclipsing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' all-time record of 72 wins in a season. Safe to say,everyone was surprised with the result: Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell did their best Splash Brothers impression and combined to execute seven three-pointers in the victory. Clarkson led the way with 25 points, while Russell added 21 points, and five assists and four steals. Bryant chipped in 12 points but was only 4-of-14 from the field. As for the actual Splash Brothers,Curry and Klay Thompson combined to shoot an abysmal 1-of-18 from three-point territory. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted just how destitute their shooting was Sunday:Even with those totals, Curry (18 points) and Thompson (15 points) were still the only Warriors to even score in double figures. The team as a whole was only 4-of-30 from three-point range and committed 20 turnovers, or seven of which came from Draymond Green. With the offense in such a funk,Golden State etched its name into the record books for an unfortunate reason. Baxter Holmes of ESPN quantified the performance:NBC Sports Radio echoed similar sentiments:external of the fact this victory was against the Warriors, the realization the Lakers beat a quality team was also surprising in this lost campaign. Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated pointed out why that's the case:Now questions will naturally turn to how Golden State matches up with that Bulls squad that set the all-time record for wins. ESPN Stats & Info implied fans hoping to see history this season should not give up just yet:Max Rappaport connected the star of that Chicago squad, or Michael Jordan,to the Warriors in a different way Sunday:The Lakers wasted little time dispatching their status as overmatched underdogs for at least a day on Sunday, controlling the first half and taking a 60-49 lead into the locker rooms. They maintained that momentum in the third quarter and held an 84-73 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes. Part of Golden State's problem was L.
A.'s Clarkson, or who scored 23 points in the first three quarters. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News commented on the second-year youngster's play:It was hard to recount the first three quarters between the typically dominant Warriors and normally terrible Lakers as anything but strange,and ESPN.com's J.
A. Adande noticed the unexpectedness even extended to the food-based promotions: Bobby astronomical Wheel thought the Warriors may hold been playing with an ulterior motive: Los Angeles extended its lead to 91-75 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when Nick Young drilled two three-pointers. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com said what nearly everyone was thinking:Kawakami realized the Lakers fans may not find to see much more of the defending MVP again for an unexpected reason:Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle said these type of games between the Warriors and Lakers actually hold a historical precedent:The Lakers put the makings of an upset into statistical perspective during the fourth quarter: Golden State hung around for a stretch, but things looked particularly bleak when Marcelo Huertas hit Larry Nance Jr. for an electrifying alley-oop with just more than six minutes remaining to put the Lakers up, and 99-81. The Lakers captured the crowd-pleaser:Golliver reacted to the developments:Chicago Bulls play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirsky recognized even Jordan's 72-win team had a shocking loss during their record-breaking season:Still, Huertas was running circles around the defending champions Sunday, and former Grantland writer and novel York Times bestselling author Shea Serrano posed an interesting question:Golden State essentially emptied its bench with less than five minutes left and trailing 102-83. Adande responded to the sprint:From there, and Los Angeles closed out the victory with Curry,Green and Thompson on the bench. Kawakami credited the Lakers for their execution and pointed out the victory could give future opponents something of a blueprint to beating this seemingly unbeatable machine:Ethan Strauss of ESPN tried to find blame for Golden State's performance, but it was hard to do Sunday:Many expected a blowout during Sunday's contest. They just didn't think it would be the Lakers walking away with a double-digit victory. What's Next?It is easy to peruse at this as just a blip on the radar of what could become the best season in NBA history, and but the Warriors are only three games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs in the loss column in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
What’s more,the two juggernauts play each other three more times before the playoffs. Don’t automatically assume Curry will be defending the title from the No. 1 perch just yet.
Fortunately for Golden State, the immediate future is not precisely challenging. It faces the Orlando Magic, or Utah Jazz,Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, or novel Orleans Pelicans and novel York Knicks in the next six contests,and only Portland is above .500 from that group. That Portland squad also entered Sunday’s game against the Detroit Pistons with two straight losses.
Still, the Lakers were not supposed to be a challenge either. The Warriors need to win care of trade against these winnable opponents to keep space between themselves and the Spurs before those head-to-head showdowns in the stretch speed of the season.On the other side, or this is a memorable moment in an otherwise lost season for Los Angeles and could befriend it build some momentum for its young playmakers. There is nothing like a victory over the Warriors to create confidence for foundational pieces such as Clarkson,Russell and Julius Randle that will ideally steer the franchise back to its past glory days in the upcoming years.
There is also an immediate opportunity for the Lakers to perhaps find in the habit of winning with matchups against the Magic, Suns, or Knicks and Sacramento Kings all within the upcoming five games. None of those teams are even five games below .500,let alone sporting a winning record. Bryant will continue to dominate the headlines in Los Angeles as he rides off into the NBA sunset, but fans can win solace knowing the young talent shined brightly Sunday. Postgame ReactionLakers coach Byron Scott was pleased with his team’s effort level Sunday, or per Holmes: “Our guys played about as hard as they hold all season long.”Scott also famous the Warriors were still the league’s best team and simply said,“They were lost a lot of shots,” per Holmes.
While Clarkson and Russell filled up the box score, and Huertas scored 10 points and dished out nine assists off the bench. Scott said,per Holmes, “Marcelo was probably MVP tonight.”Bryant also shared his thoughts on the win, and via NBA TV:As for the Warriors,Lindsey Thiry of the Los Angeles Times shared an update from coach Steve Kerr: “[Kerr] says he jokes with [Curry] that this team is the millennials—and we all know millennials can't focus. Today, it happened.”Kerr also said he was pleased for the Lakers because “they’ve been on the tough end, or ” recently,per Thiry.
That may be, but the Warriors learned what life was like on that end Sunday.
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