Davis, Russell, James lead Lakers to 127-97 blowout Game 3 victory over Warriors
LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James, D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis combined for 67 points Saturday night to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 127-97 Game 3 rout of the Golden State Warriors to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference semifinal showdown.
The two teams will meet again in Game 4 on Monday night in Los Angeles where the Lakers are 4-0 at home in the playoffs this year.
With the game well in hand early in the fourth quarter, Davis, James and Russell went to the bench to watch the Lakers reserves finish up the win.
"We're one of the best defensive teams in the league, if not the best," James said. "For us to reach our potential, we have to defend at a high level. Not one team in this league tests you more in that than Golden State, so we have to be alert for a test on every single possession."
Davis bounced back from a sub-par Game 2, dominating the paint with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. James, who didn't take a shot until well into the second quarter, added 21 points with 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Meanwhile, Russell's hot hand got the Lakers off to a fast start as he scored 11 straight points in the first quarter and finished with 21 points.
Steph Curry led the Warriors with 23 points, but had just 3 assists. Andrew Wiggins added 16 and Thompson scored 15 points but just 4 points after the first quarter.
Two stats stood out in particular. The Warriors had 19 turnovers and Los Angeles shot 37 free throws -- 10 more than Golden State.
"You can't get distracted by stuff you can't control," Curry said. "As much as it's frustrating, it's the test that every team has to go through throughout the series, blocking out that stuff as much as we can. We obviously know who we are and what we're capable of, all the things we always say after a loss."
The Lakers threw a haymaker of a late third quarter run at Golden State going on a 10-0 run on the way to an 18-point -- 86-68 -- advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Two plays stood out in the quarter.
James broke up a Warriors transition threat, sprinting upcourt, hurdling over a row of fans sitting on the baseline, running up the stairs for about 10 rows.
Wiggins threw down a monster dunk over Davis, but the Warriors still trailed 71-59 with 5:45 left in the quarter.
Los Angeles went on a 22-2 run midway through the second quarter to grab a 51-42 lead and then lengthen that 59-48 at the half as the Warriors self-destructed with turnovers, take fouls and technical fouls.
"After that first quarter, guys just really turned it up," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. "They dialed up their competitiveness, and their communication was great. … We were just playing a really physical, forceful downhill game."
Draymond Green, JaMychal Green and Donte DiVincenzo all were accessed technicals and the Warriors turned the ball over 12 times,
Davis, who was a non-factor in the Game 2, was brilliant in the first half scoring 16 points with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Russell added 21 points and after a slow start James chipped in 10 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
Curry had 13 points at the half to lead the Warriors, Thompson had 11 after being held scoreless in the second quarter.
Like in the Game 1 win, the Lakers held an enormous advantage at the free throw line. They took 15 free throws in the second quarter while the Warriors were 1-for-1 from line.
One of the early story lines of the game was the absence of James from the Lakers offense. For the first time in 275 career playoff games, James did not take a shot in the first quarter.
In the Lakers Game 2 loss, James scored 21 points in the first half, but only 2 in the second half.
James finally took his first shot at the 8 minute mark of the second quarter, but it clanked off the rim. He was fouled on a drive at the 6:32 mark, hitting both free throws to pull the Lakers to within 40-35.
With Russell scoring 13 points, the Lakers took a 7-point lead midway through the first quarter before the Warriors offense got cranking behind Thompson's 3-point shooting.
With Davis dropping into the lane on pick and rolls instead of challenging the shooter, Thompson found his rhythm, hitting on 3-of-5 3-pointers on the way to an 11-point quarter.
With Wiggins adding 7 points in the quarter, Golden State ended the stanza a 13-2 run to lead 30-23 at the break.
