Two United States Olympic hopefuls — one named an NBA All-Star for the 20th time, the other hoping to get a 10th invitation next week — go head-to-head as rivals Saturday night when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers lock horns with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
The California rivals will be meeting for the first time this season, and the first time since the Lakers ended Golden State’s season with a 4-2 triumph in the Western Conference playoff semifinals last May.
Curry outscored James 160-148 in that series, but the Lakers had the more productive supporting cast, with Anthony Davis averaging a double-double (21.5 points, 14.5 rebounds) while D’Angelo Russell (14.7) and Austin Reaves (14.3) combined for another 29 points a game.
Both teams have taken a step backward this season, each with 23 losses as the schedule recently passed the midpoint. Neither currently ranks among the top eight in the West.
Seeking consistency as they embark on a six-game trip, the Lakers have alternated wins and losses in their last five games. They are coming off a 141-132 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
All the usual suspects showed up big-time against the Bulls, with Russell (29), James (25), Davis (22) and Reaves (20) all reaching 20 points. But James, amid questions about his record-setting All-Star assignment, took time to single out a 17-point scorer — Jarred Vanderbilt — as providing the most encouraging performance off the bench.
“It’s the Vando we grew accustomed to when we got him last year,” James said. “Obviously, the injuries put a hurting on him early this season, but he’s getting back into form. And that’s the Vando we’ve been missing.”
The Warriors have lost three of four, splitting contests on back-to-back nights Wednesday and Thursday to open a four-game homestand.
With Draymond Green back from his suspension, Golden State’s offense was hitting on all cylinders in the last two games, scoring 134 points against the Atlanta Hawks and 133 against the Sacramento Kings. But they gave up 134 against the Kings, wasting a second straight brilliant performance by Jonathan Kuminga.
Against the Hawks, the 21-year-old Kuminga tied a franchise record by making all 11 of his shots on a 25-point night. He was arguably even better when he capped a 31-point performance with two late dunks that gave Golden State a last-minute lead against the Kings.
But the Warriors gave up a lead-changing dunk to Domantas Sabonis and then watched Curry, attempting to play hero on the same day he was informed he wouldn’t be an All-Star starter, lose control of his dribble before getting an opportunity to attempt a potential game-winning shot as time expired.
While acknowledging the disappointment of the defeat, Kuminga noted afterward he sees the Warriors moving in a positive direction.
“I would say that from the last two games, there haven’t really been a lot of issues. I feel like we are all connected,” he said. “We are playing great. We are just going to keep building from that.”
–Field Level Media