Anthony Davis led all scorers with 39 points, Dennis Schroder and Troy Brown buried key 3-pointers late and the Los Angeles Lakers spoiled Stephen Curry’s return with a 113–105 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon, March 5.
Having missed 11 straight games with a partially torn ligament in his left knee, Curry paced the Warriors with 27 points in 32 minutes. But he missed a wide-open 3-point attempt with Golden State down four with 1:14 to play.
After the Warriors erased all of a 20-point first-quarter deficit, the Lakers found themselves in a 91–all tie following Anthony Lamb’s 3-pointer with 5:37 to go.
But Davis’ supporting cast, lacking injured LeBron James and D'Angelo Russell, came through down the stretch, with the 3-pointers by Schroder and Brown contributing to a 10-2 burst that opened a 101–93 lead with just 3:38 to go.
Curry and Klay Thompson responded with 3-pointers in a late Golden State surge, but this time Davis took matters into his own hands, hitting two free throws after the Warriors had closed within two and making a five-foot floater following Curry’s late missed three.
In addition to eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks, Davis finished 10–for–13 at the line, nearly getting as many attempts as Golden State did as a team. The Warriors finished 15–for–18.
Austin Reaves chipped in with 16 points and Brown 14 for Los Angeles, which improved to 2–2 since James suffered a tendon injury in his right foot. Malik Beasley contributed 12 points to the win, Schroder 11 and Jarred Vanderbilt 10.
Vanderbilt completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds. Reaves had a game-high eight assists.
Curry shot 8–for–20 overall and 5-for-13 on 3-pointers. Golden State outscored the hosts 54-33 from beyond the arc in the loss.
Thompson backed Curry with 22 points for the Warriors, who saw a five-game winning streak—all at home—come to an end.
Draymond Green compiled 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Donte DiVincenzo had 11 points and Jordan Poole 10. DiVincenzo also tied Curry with a team-high six assists.
