SUMMARY
- The Los Angeles Lakers came out on top vs the Golden State Warriors in a 2OT thriller.
- The game ended 145-144, thanks to a last-minute foul from Draymond Green on LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors just battled it out at the Chase Center. The 17x NBA champs won the game 145-144, but it took until 2OT for LeBron James and Co. to get to the end. The Stephen Curry vs LeBron James matchups have always proven to be entertaining and spicy, with the 2016 NBA Finals being one of the best series in history.
Their face-off proved to be worth the hype once again, as both these NBA superstars left it all on the floor. King James managed to put up an impressive triple-double, with 36 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists. Anthony Davis made 29 points and 13 rebounds as well. D’Angelo Russell, whose LA future has been in doubt, has been silencing all his doubters lately with his performances. DLo also scored 28 points on the night vs The Dubs.
It was a decent fight from the Warriors players, but there was a moment where they had the win in the bag. The win was for there to take, until Draymond Green fouled LeBron in the last play of the game when the latter was driving to the rim. Although LeBron didn’t make the layup, Green conceded a foul, giving away two FTs. That was enough for LeBron to give the Lakers the win.
Draymond Green guarding LeBron James for the game winner
pic.twitter.com/gFR7vviJNz— Melly (@mellywr8) January 28, 2024
Draymond Green’s entire career is literally built on the idea that they can’t call a foul on every play
— LeBron is the GOAT (@LBJistheGOAT6) January 28, 2024
LeBron hit the game-winning FTs off a foul by Draymond Green?
Oh… pic.twitter.com/A2AcL9Arro
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) January 28, 2024
It is no secret that LeBron and Draymond are on good terms off the court. But some fans have speculated that their friendship could have caused the Warriors star to give way for LeBron as well. Although that is an exaggeration, Warriors fans will surely be unhappy with their star defender.
Stephen Curry fails to lead the Warriors to a win despite scoring 46 points vs the Lakers
Stephen Curry has been having his fair share of struggles in recent weeks as well. The 4x NBA champ has had multiple single-digit games, which is extremely rare considering the type of player he is. However, that was not the case tonight. He put up 46 points against the likes of AD, along with 7 assists as well. The Chef almost dragged the Warriors to the finish line with an open three from deep at the end of 2OT.
LEBRON:
36 PTS – 20 REB – 12 ASTSTEPH:
46 PTS – 3 REB – 7 ASTWHAT A GAME. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/yGdrq7E5hv
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 28, 2024
But that was when Green fouled LeBron at the other end. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins also had decent scoring performances, but Green was surely a force to be reckoned with. He put on his best against the legendary King and managed to keep him at bay early on in the game.
Moreover, the Warriors were +33 with Green. The most his teammates had was +2, with Klay. It must be noted that one play at the end does not invalidate Green’s sensational defending throughout the entire game.