Just like any competitive playoff series, we saw some adjustments.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson sharpened his shooting stroke. Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis had an off night. And the Warriors started JaMychal Green in place of Kevon Looney.
All of which produced a Warriors 127-100 win over the Lakers on Thursday in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series. Below are five more detailed takeaways from Golden State’s Game 2 win that ties the series at 1-1. The Lakers will host Game 3 on Saturday (8:30 pm ET, ABC).
Klay Thompson finished with his best playoff performance this season
Just like he has experienced throughout his 10-year NBA career, Thompson looked sharp with his rhythm, his touch and his shot. Thompson finished with 30 points while shooting 11-for-18 from the field and 8-for-11 from 3-point range, marking the sixth career playoff game where he made at least eight shots.
But this one had to feel different. Thompson won his first playoff game against a team he grew up idolizing. After playing as a key piece of the Showtime Lakers during their second act, Klay’s father (Mychal) has since served as the Lakers’ radio analyst.
During that time, Mychal brought a young Klay to Laker games where he met the late Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and others on the Lakers’ championship teams in the early 2000s. Nearly 11 years ago, Thompson relished matching up with Bryant during his rookie season. And playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs has since become a dream come true both for Klay and Mychal Thompson.
The Warriors’ offense featured a different identity with Thompson as the primary scorer. Thompson scored mostly in catch-and-shoot opportunities, which requires plenty of off-ball movement, efficient dribbling and a quick dribbling.
That took pressure off of Stephen Curry, who had 20 points while going 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from deep. Curry added 12 assists, mostly because of Thompson’s makes. Golden State is still dangerous obviously when Curry carries the team offensively. But Thompson’s strong play reduced the pressure on Curry and also made the Warriors more unpredictable.
Anthony Davis had a quiet night for the Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have said it so many times. So have I. The Lakers’ success and failure mostly hinges on how consistently healthy and aggressive Davis can be. So two days after having a dominant Game 1 performance, Davis had a quiet night with 11 points while shooting 5-for-11 along with seven rebounds. He had more turnovers (four) than blocks (three) and just as many assists (four). And he only had one free-throw attempt (at least he made it).
Sure, the Warriors improved their defense with their smaller lineup. Sure, LeBron James picked up some of the scoring slack with 23 points while shooting 10-for-18 overall and 3-for-8 from deep. Sure, the Lakers could do a better job with setting Davis up with the ball.
But this mostly falls on Davis. He has to be aggressive to make this all work, regardless of the Warriors’ defensive coverages, play calls or anything else. He is too talented to allow circumstances to dictate how well he plays.
Golden State Warriors made a lineup switch
Golden State made a personnel adjustment for Game 2, but it this one didn’t seem anticipated. Warriors coach Steve Kerr started JaMychal Green in place of center Kevon Looney, whom the team said hadn’t been feeling well. That didn’t stop Looney from playing. He came off the bench and had six points and eight rebounds in 12 minutes.
But Green’s start seemed surprising for two reasons. He only played for a total of 23 minutes in the Warriors’ seven-game playoff series against Sacramento. It seemed possible Kerr could use athletic second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga to give another look on Davis as part of the Warriors’ smaller lineup.
Regardless, the lineup switch worked. Green finished with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 3-for-6 from deep in 13 minutes. That move opened up the Warriors’ offense more with improved spacing stemmed from having a starting lineup. Not only did that help the Warriors produce well offensively. It also limited Davis’ defensive impact at the rim since the Warriors’ smaller lineup forced him also to defend out on the perimeter.
It remains to be seen if Kerr will make this switch permanently. Looney might reclaim his spot once his illness goes away. This could at least ensure Green enters the playoff rotation for this series, though. Either way, expect Kerr to make more adjustments throughout the series. He’s kind of figured this whole thing out through the Warriors’ four NBA title runs in six Finals appearances.
Los Angeles Lakers get some early rest
It might be fair to wonder if the fatigue got the best of the Lakers in Game 2. They played two days after their Game 1, which featured Davis (44 minutes) and James (40) logging a heavy workload in hopes to land the first punch of the series. Mission accomplished, but that may have had influenced their poor Game 2 play. The silver lining? The game was so lopsided that the Lakers received early rest.
With the Warriors holding a 110-80 lead entering the fourth quarter, Lakers coach Darvin Ham emptied his bench. That gave James and Davis, in particular, some early recovery time. Davis (33 minutes) and James (28) should look sharper in Game 3 on Saturday in LA.
Free-throw discrepancy reduced between Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers
Just like in Game 1, the Warriors didn’t receive many foul calls. Unlike in Game 1, the Lakers didn’t get them either. The Warriors went 10-for-16 from the line, while the Lakers shot 10-for-17. That marks a huge difference with what the Lakers shot in Game 1 (25-for-29), while the Warriors only went 5-for-6.
The Lakers had less trips to the line in Game 2 for a few reasons. Davis had an ineffective game. The Warriors didn’t fall into early foul trouble. And the Lakers shot more 3s in Game 2 (10-for-34) than in Game 1 (6-for-25). Though it’s a good sign for the Lakers to improve their outside shooting, it also illustrates that the Lakers are more effective when they’re driving to the basket and drawing contact.