Getty Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Darvin Ham provided some late defense for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 117-112 Game 1 victory against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole got a decent look at the potential game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left and it was a contest from Ham on the sideline that got some attention. Just a coach practicing what he preaches.
The camera angle might have been deceiving but the Lakers head coach looked to be at least a step onto the court as Poole took the shot and put his hand up. Twitter took notice.
“Look at Ham,” Ryen Russilo tweeted with a video of the play.
Look at Ham
With a ref standing right there, some were puzzled why a call wasn’t made.
“The ref is looking right at him?” one commenter wrote. “How is that not called?”
Others had a better sense of humor about Ham’s antics.
“Contested the shot without entering the shooter’s space. Clean play by Ham,” another commenter wrote.
Warriors OK With Jordan Poole’s Late Shot
Steve Kerr didn’t have a problem with Jordan Poole’s late missed 3-pointer after seeing Steph Curry double-teamed:
“Pretty good look. That’s a shot he can hit. Really happy with that possession. Jordan had six threes already. It was a great shot for us.”
Ham contest or not, it was a 28-foot shot from Poole and he took some heat for being the one to pull the trigger instead of Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was not among those who took issue with Poole’s shot selection.
“I thought Jordan did a really good job. I had timeouts left but I saw them double-teaming Steph, so I knew someone was going to be wide open if we could get the ball out,” Kerr said in his postgame press conference. “Steph did a great job and got the ball out of the trap and Jordan was wide open. Pretty good look and that’s a shot he can hit. Really happy with that possession. Jordan had hit six threes already, so it’s a great shot for us.”
The 3-ball is what kept the Warriors in the game. As a team, Golden State was 21-of-53 from deep, while the Lakers hit just six 3-pointers all night.
However, the Lakers nearly doubled them up on points in the paint, which also translated to a major discrepancy in free throw attempts. The Lakers were 25-of-29 from the charity stripe, while the Warriors as a team attempted just six free throws, making five.
Lakers Not Getting Ahead of Themselves After Game 1 Win
The Game 1 victory is big for the Lakers, who stole the home-court advantage in Game 1 for a second consecutive series. It’s especially important against the Warriors, who were tremendous at home this season but struggled on the road.
Still, the Lakers are not getting ahead of themselves, understanding the defending champs can’t be counted out. The Warriors came back from a 0-2 hole in their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings.
“It’s huge coming out and winning Game 1, taking home court. But like we said after the game, the job is not finished,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said after the game. “It’s not the first one to win one game, it’s first to four so we got to keep a good mindset moving forward and stay locked in.”
The Lakers will look to take an 0-2 series lead on Thursday in Game 2.