Lakers drop their 8th straight in starless night to Warriors.
No LeBron James. No Anthony Davis. No Russell Westbrook. No Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers dropped their eighth game in a row in tonight’s loss to the Warriors without their key contributors, losing to Golden State 128–112 to put their season record to 31–49 with two games left in the regular season.
“The Lakers being the best franchise in the NBA, it sucks that we let the fans down,” Malik Monk said, “We’ve just got to build from this and never let this happen again.”
Golden State’s Klay Thompson showed flashes of his old self in tonight’s Lakers loss, finishing the night with a team-high 33 points on 6-for-10 (60%) shooting from three, shooting 54% on 12-for-22 overall from the field.
21-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker added a new accolade in his young career, scoring a career-high 40 points on 53% (15-for-28) shooting overall, adding 4 steals, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds in 36 minutes of action tonight.
“He’s at his best with the ball in his hands and shooters around him.” Frank Vogel said, “We haven’t been able to create that type of role for him, but you see what he can do.”
After the game, Horton-Tucker was asked about the Lakers’ final home game of the season tomorrow night at the Crypto (Staples) versus the Thunder.
“Every time we step on the court, we’re not playing to lose.” Horton-Tucker said, “We’ve got to give the people at Crypto their money’s worth.”
Malik Monk finished second in scoring behind Horton-Tucker with a solid outing of 24 points on 8-of-17 (47%) shooting overall, adding 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 37 minutes.
Dwight Howard had another impressive outing in the starting lineup, finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, going 60% from the floor on 6-for-10 shooting and 1-for-1 from three!
The Lakers will travel back home at the Crypto to play the Thunder tomorrow for their last stop at home, who sit with a 24–56 record. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT and televised on Spectrum SportsNet and NBA TV.