The Golden State Warriors made some improbable history during their 112-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Stephen Curry and Co. erased a 25-point first-half deficit to win by 17, completing the largest comeback victory of the shot-clock era.
The NBA highlighted Golden State’s amazing feat:
Stephen Curry and the @warriors become the first team of the shot-clock era to trail by 23+ after 1Q and tie the game by halftime, and take over late to win their @emirates NBA Cup opener!
The Warriors are the first team of the shot-clock era (since 1954-55) to trail by 23+ after 1Q and tie the game by halftime 🤯
After falling behind 38–15 in the first quarter, the Warriors amazingly returned the favor in the second — outscoring their Pacific Division rivals by the exact same 23-point margin to tie the game at 53 heading into halftime. Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski then took over in the second half, combining for 31 points to fuel a 59–42 run and cap off a dominant 112–95 win.
Warriors Rally Back vs Lakers
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was not exactly surprised by his team’s ability to wipe a 25-point deficit and yet win the game by double-digits.
“What I would tell you guys is that 25, you know, it’s the new 12,” Kerr said about facing large deficits, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
“These games happen nightly in the league. I watched the Utah-Laker game today prepping. I think Utah was up 19 at the end of the first quarter and then the Lakers tied it by half. With the pace and the 3-point shooting, there’s just these wild swings, and you just have to stay with it.”
Warriors Improve to 3-3
With the win, the Warriors have now won three consecutive games after starting 0-3. Notably, they have defeated key West rivals Denver Nuggets (134-114), Minnesota Timberwolves (119-114) and Lakers (112-95) by a combined margin of 42 points.
Although Curry and Podziemski were the stars of Friday’s win, a lot of the credit goes to Golden State’s bench for rallying the second-quarter comeback.
“Golden State’s bench outscored LA’s 30 to 3 through the first two quarters and just kept it going the rest of the way,” wrote NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson.
“In a game where Curry scored more than 30 points, the Warriors’ bench added 50 of their own. The Lakers’ bench had just seven points.
“Melton was the bench’s best scoring option with 16 points. The veteran guard wasn’t alone. Georges Niang added 11 points as a plus-21, Will Richard was a plus-20 because of his defense and energy and a long list of reserves were responsible for an improbable win.”
The red-hot Warriors (3-3) will look to continue their three-game winning streak against the LA Clippers (1-4) on Sunday.
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