After versing the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the best team in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors, on the second night of a back to back.
The Warriors have been a well-oiled machine this season, owning the best record in the NBA at 52-13. However, one of those 13 losses came against the Lakers earlier in the season on December 23. The Lakers surprisingly defeated the Warriors in a blowout fashion on a night when Kobe Bryant, who was healthy at the time, was resting.
Surely, the top seeded Warriors would like to seek revenge in the final meeting between the two teams. The Warriors dominated the Lakers in the first two meetings of the season, beating them by an average of 22 points.
The first game between the two was played in Oakland where the Warriors took care of the Lakers behind Klay Thompson’s 41 points. His backcourt mate Stephen Curry tacked on 31 points of his own, as the Warriors cruised to a 127-104 victory.
The second game, played in Los Angeles, Golden State put on an offensive clinic and hammered the Lakers by 21 points, 136-105. Curry led his team in scoring this time with a 30-point and 15-assist effort, while Marreese Speights poured in 24 points off the bench. In this game, Bryant scored a season-high 44 points, but it was not enough to overcome the deadly three-point shooting of Golden State.
In Golden State's last game, on his 27th birthday, Stephen Curry put on a show once again to lead his team to a 125-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday evening. He put in 25 points, 11 assists, and three steals on 6 of 10 shooting from long distance, while his ‘Splash Brother’ Klay Thompson was the high man with 27 points, including six three-pointers of his own.
The Lakers may be a bit worn out after attempting another late game rally against the East-leading Atlanta Hawks on Sunday evening. Atlanta rested three of their starters and lost Kyle Korver early in the game due to a broken nose, but still managed to beat the Lakers behind Dennis Schroder’s career-high 24 points to go with 10 assists. The Lakers were sloppy offensively, committing 22 turnovers and shooting 40 percent from the field. Carlos Boozer and Ryan Kelly were the two leading scorers for the Lakers with 13 apiece.
The Warriors have routed the Lakers four consecutive times at the Oracle Arena and look to keep that streak alive in what could be a trap game before they play the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday in a battle between the two powerhouses of each conference.
Golden State has been astounding at home with a record of 29-2, while the Lakers have been terrible on road, mastering a 7-25 away record. With that being said, the odds seem to be in favor of the Warriors, and this could be another game where they could possibly rest their starters in the fourth quarter.
The game tips off at 10:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.