LeBron James made no excuse after his Los Angeles Lakers got blown out by the Golden State Warriors 127-100 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday.
Both James and Davis have dealt with injuries this season and have been logging some heavy minutes in the postseason. But James assured their health had nothing to do with the lopsided loss.
“We feel great,” James said frankly in his postgame press conference.
A benefit of the blowout was that James and Davis got to sit in the fourth quarter. The duo combined for 84 minutes in Game 1.
James then answered the second part of the question, which was about the Lakers’ 3-point defense. The four-time MVP was equally dismissive of the question.
“Yes, we did yes we contested threes,” James said.
The Lakers had no answer for the Warriors’ explosive offense, which was led by a scorching-hot Klay Thompson. The veteran sniper scored 30 points in 31 minutes, hitting 8 of 11 shots from beyond the arc. As a team, Golden State hit their shots from 3-point land at a 50% clip.
“They made their adjustments. We knew they were going to do that, that’s what a championship team does,” James said. “They held serve on their home court tonight.”
James has a history against the Warriors’ core of Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He understands things can get out of hand in a hurry, which is what happened in Game 2.
“You know, they’re gonna go on runs,” James said. “But you got to keep scoring. Try to hold the fort down, obviously.”
LeBron James: ‘We’re Still the Best Defensive Team in the League’
GettyLakers star LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers defense got torched in Game 2 but that didn’t diminish James’ confidence in their abilities on that end of the floor.
“We’re still the best defensive team in the league,” James said. “So that doesn’t change and that’s what we hang our hats on. But like I said, you give credit where credit is due. Klay was spectacular tonight. Draymond was great in the pocket pass with the rolls and things of that nature.”
The Warriors shifted their lineup facing a potential 0-2 hole, inserting veteran JaMychal Green into the starting group. He played just 13 minutes but his contributions were felt.
“JaMychal gave him them big time minutes — just [13] minutes felt like 24 or 30 minutes. He was big-time for their team in a starting role tonight,” James said. “You have to give credit where credit is due and we move on to the next game. But our defense is where we hang our hat and that doesn’t stop, no matter what you are playing against.”
Anthony Davis Ineffective Against Warriors After Game 1 Dominance
Anthony Davis said his shot diet didn’t change from Game 2 vs. Game 1, he just missed them.
Shot charts seems to confirm that as more or less a fact. Warriors made some of those shots more difficult, but they were roughly in the same spots
Sometimes it’s a make or miss league.
Aside from the Lakers’ leaky defense, another big missing part of the equation in Game 2 was Davis, who practically disappeared after a monster Game 1.
After posting 30 points and 23 rebounds in the series opener, Davis had 11 points and 7 rebounds on Thursday.
“Just missed ’em. That’s all,” Davis said of his rough night. “We’ll be better. I’ll be better at making those shots. Get back home on our home floor and try to take care of business.”
The series now heads back to Los Angeles for Game 3 and the Lakers can be happy that they came away with a 1-1 split at Chase Center. The contest is scheduled for Saturday.
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Lakers Star LeBron James Issues 3-Word Message on Health After Blowout