SAN FRANCISCO — Behind a theatrical 31 points from Stephen Curry late Friday night, the Golden State Warriors roared back for a 112-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first team in the past 30 seasons to trail by 25 points and win by at least 17.
Lakers star Luka Doncic was the story initially. His rematch against outspoken Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg dominated pregame coverage after Lendeborg criticized Doncic following their previous matchup and continued the conversation leading up to Friday’s tip-off.
Doncic stayed quiet about Lendeborg publicly but responded loudly in an aggressive first quarter, putting up 21 points and five assists to jolt the Lakers to a 38-15 lead, shushing the crowd after “Luka sucks” chants broke out.
Los Angeles scored to open the second quarter, building that 25-point cushion, before the Lakers struggled with Doncic on the bench.
Two Warriors reserves, Georges Niang and De’Anthony Melton, combined for 27 bench points, making a batch of second-quarter 3s to zip them back in it and set the stage for Curry.
“Them boys had my back today,” Lendeborg said. “Steph Curry did his thing.”
Curry had eight points and three assists in a late second-quarter surge, hitting a deep 3 and a difficult layup before setting up Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford for 3s.
That completed the Warriors’ 38-15 second-quarter response. In the shot clock era, this was the largest deficit ever overcome at the end of the first quarter (23) to be tied or ahead at halftime.
“What I would tell you guys is that 25, you know, it’s the new 12,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said about facing deficits. “These games happen nightly in the league. I watched the Utah-Laker game today prepping. I think Utah was up 19 at the end of the first quarter and then the Lakers tied it by half. With the pace and the 3-point shooting, there’s just these wild swings, and you just have to stay with it.”
Curry scored eight more points in the third quarter and nine in the fourth, giving him 31 on the night and 75 over the past two games combined, as he begins to rev his engines in his 18th season.
The signature play of the night came with 6:27 left in the third quarter. The Warriors spent much of the second half hunting Doncic on defense, lining up screens to get him switched onto Curry.
Curry had Doncic isolated on the left wing and went through a dribble combination that sent Doncic into a misstep, causing him to tumble onto the hardwood as the fans rose.
Curry paused for a second, looked at Doncic, swished a 3, and then grabbed his face in celebration. Curry later told the Amazon Prime postgame crew that he “didn’t expect it to get that nasty.”
“There were people on the bench calling him a sicko,” Lendeborg said. “I don’t even know. It was astonishing.”
Curry’s performance, combined with a high-impact 21 points and six assists from Podziemski, shielded Lendeborg from what would have been a negative spotlight.
After a strong surge to start his career that included plenty of trash talk, Lendeborg had a quiet second game against Doncic and the Lakers.
He committed two quick fouls and said it sapped his aggressiveness. Lendeborg finished with six points, six fouls and five turnovers, calling it the “worst game of my life.” Doncic scored 37 and was a plus-nine.
“Try not to wet the bed as bad as I did,” Lendeborg said when asked what lesson he would take.
Lendeborg called himself a “big dweller” on his bad games, but the condensed NBA schedule doesn’t allow for much time to sulk. The Warriors, suddenly 3-3 after an 0-3 start, put their winning streak on the line Sunday night against the LA Clippers.
“We have his back through all of that, and knowing that the next game, we’re going to need him,” Curry said. “It’s all about the theme of him learning trial by fire, going through the ups and downs in front of everybody. It’s a tough demand, but I think he’s built for it.”
