The NBA has four outstanding semifinal matchups right now, but none is more intriguing or anticipated than the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Golden State Warriors, and Game 1 on Tuesday lived up to the hype.
The Warriors jumped to a 10-2 lead, but Los Angeles fought back to make the game competitive. Anthony Davis feasted inside on both ends of the floor, and he prevented his team from falling behind by more than three points after the first quarter.
A few expected themes quickly emerged in the first half. The Warriors had a huge advantage in terms of 3-point shooting, setting a franchise record for first-half makes with 13. L.A. had its way in terms of points in the paint and free throw attempts. In the first half, the Warriors shot three foul shots while the Lakers went 16-of-17 in that category.
Meanwhile, the Lakers were 1-of-8 from downtown in the first half, but in the third quarter, they started to heat up from that distance while Golden State went just 3-of-10 from downtown, allowing them to take an eight-point lead at the end of the period. A 14-0 run by the Warriors allowed them to tie the game at 112, but L.A. scored the last five points to win, 117-112.
The Lakers, as they did in the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies, stole home-court advantage right away. Now the pressure is squarely on the defending world champs for Game 2.
Anthony Davis: A-plus
Davis was inconsistent offensively against the Grizzlies, but he was dominant defensively and on the boards in that series. On Tuesday, he was dominant on both ends of the floor.
He was outstanding in the first half, scoring 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds. He slowed a bit in the second half, and he appeared to be tired down the stretch, as he played every minute of the second half, but he continued to be a terror on the boards and on the defensive end.
Davis finished the game with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, plus 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots. His one blemish — and it was a significant one — is the fact that he allowed Kevon Looney, his opposite number, to grab 23 rebounds himself.
But when Davis puts up the type of numbers he had in Game 1, there may not be a team in the league that’s capable of beating the Lakers.
Jarred Vanderbilt: A-minus
Vanderbilt was assigned to guard Stephen Curry, and he did a decent job on him. Although Curry went 6-of-13 from 3-point range, he was just 10-of-24 overall and committed a game-high five turnovers.
The Lakers forward went just 2-of-7 himself, but he did hit a 3-pointer, and he also contributed six rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in 26 minutes.
LeBron James: C-plus/B-minus
As the Lakers did in Game 6 of the prior round against the Memphis Grizzlies, they had James handle the ball less and work off the ball more. It allowed him to expend less energy in the first half, as he didn’t assert himself too much and was able to be fairly efficient offensively, going 5-of-9 from the field.
But James initiated the action more as the game wore on, and it seemed like he wasn’t as effective in such situations. He settled for a good number of outside shots and was just 1-of-8 from downtown, and he finished the night 9-of-24 overall.
However, he did take down 11 rebounds, blocked three shots and added five assists to help the Lakers’ cause.
D'Angelo Russell: A-minus
Russell started the game slowly, but he started the third quarter hot with eight quick points to set the stage for the spurt that gave Los Angeles control of the contest. His 3-point shot wasn’t falling, so he looked to attack the basket, and that strategy led him to shoot 9-of-19 for the game.
He dished six assists while committing just one turnover, and as was the case against Memphis, his ability to handle the ball, initiate action and hit the open man helped prevent James from tiring out late in the contest.
Russell made the biggest basket of the game when he scored a layup with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter to break a 112-all tie and put L.A. up for good.
Austin Reaves: B
Reaves drew the assignment of guarding Klay Thompson. Although Thompson was hot early, he shot just 2-of-11 in the second half: He didn’t get many good looks.
On the other hand, Reaves was quiet in the first half, but he scored eight points during the Lakers’ third-quarter run. He finished 4-of-9 overall and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc to score 10 points while adding five rebounds and three assists against zero turnovers.
Rui Hachimura: B
Hachimura received 11 minutes of playing time, but he gave the Lakers a bit of a spark in the first quarter by hitting both of his shot attempts and free throws while adding one rebound and one assist.
As the series wears on, they will need him to put forth stronger scoring numbers, just as he did in the first three games versus the Grizzlies.
Troy Brown Jr.: B-minus
Brown played 12 minutes, and he did something he hasn’t done since Game 1 against Memphis — hit a 3-pointer.
He may not get much playing time in this series, but when he is on the court, L.A. will need him to rediscover the hot shooting touch he had during the last two months of the regular season.
Dennis Schroder: A-plus
Schroder made a quick impact with 13 points in the first half, plus a steal against Curry that led to a breakaway layup.
His ability to stick to a small ball-handling guard such as Curry will be crucial to the Lakers’ chances in this series. When he also does as well offensively as he did in Game 1, he will make them very difficult to defeat.
The German native finished with 19 points on 5-of-10 field-goal shooting and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, while also contributing three assists and two rebounds without committing a turnover.
One of the reasons the Lakers won this game was their lack of turnovers. They gave the ball away just eight times and limited Golden State to 14 fast-break points.
Wenyen Gabriel: Incomplete
Gabriel played just four minutes, all of them early in the second quarter, and he produced two rebounds while going scoreless.
He will need to play more minutes per game if the Lakers are to win this series. Davis should not and probably cannot play 44 minutes each game as he did in Game 1.
