The Los Angeles Lakers (26-31) snapped a three-game skid with a 109-103 road victory over the Golden State Warriors (28-28) Saturday at Chase Center in the return of D’Angelo Russell to the franchise that drafted him.
Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley also made their debut for the Purple & Gold, scoring 12 and four points off the bench, respectively. All three aforementioned players arrived to Los Angeles in a trade that saw Russell Westbrook leave.
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LeBron James and Stephen Curry were both sidelined due to injury, but the thrilling contest still kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Warriors led the visitors by a couple of points after both the first and second quarters. Lakers then gained a five-point advantage into the final frame, in which Golden State guard Jordan Poole nearly secured a win for his side.
Poole, 23, scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth stanza, not enough to overcome the Lake Show. Klay Thompson was the team’s second highest scorer with just 15 points.
Draymond Green put up 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, a solid night for the Golden State leader. Andrew Wiggins, on the other hand, scored the same amount of points as Green, but was far less helpful.
Lakers leading scorers
Lakers guard Dennis Schroder went toe-to-toe with Poole, scoring a team-high 26 points. Rui Hachimura was LA’s second scoring leader with 16 points.
Anthony Davis scored just 13 points, but made up for his lack of offensive activity with 16 rebounds.
Russell, 26, scored 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, adding six assists and five rebounds. He only turned the ball over three times.
Lakers visit the Portland Trail Blazers (27-29) Monday at Moda Center. It’s unlikely that James will be available by that time.
Warriors host the Washington Wizards (26-29) Monday without Curry, who won’t return to action until after the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
