Los Angeles (USA), March 15 (EFE) .- The Los Angeles Lakers, who for the fourth consecutive game did not have Marc Gasol due to the coronavirus protocol, stood out today against the Golden State Warriors (97-128) with an offensive gale that destroyed Steph Curry’s men.
LeBron James had a triple-double (22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) as part of an attack with plenty of resources: 27 points from Montrezl Harrell, 18 from Talen Horton-Tucker, 17 from Kyle Kuzma and 14 from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope .
The Angelenos also enjoyed a fabulous success facing the basket with 63% in field goals (49 of 78) and 41% in triples (11 of 27).
The coral effort of those of purple and gold had even more merit if one takes into account the bulky report of casualties with which they landed today in San Francisco (USA).
There appeared the injured Anthony Davis, Alex Caruso and Jared Dudley as well as Marc Gasol and Kostas Antetokounmpo, who are both on leave due to the coronavirus protocol.
But the Lakers ruled the duel against the Warriors with a firm hand and without any doubt: at the end of the second quarter they already caressed the 20-point lead and in the last quarter they surpassed the 30-point difference in favor without major problems.
In a completely overwhelmed and unanswered Warriors, Curry was the only one who fought with 27 points (15 of them only in the first quarter).
After the All-Star break, the Lakers have won two consecutive games: today against the Warriors and last Friday against the Indiana Pacers.
The current NBA champions now have a balance of 26 wins and 13 losses and are very close to second place in the Western Conference, now in the hands of the Phoenix Suns (26-12).
For their part, the Warriors remain out of the play-off spots in the West with 20 wins and 20 losses.
NO NOVELTIES OF GASOL
Because of the coronavirus protocol, Marc Gasol missed the last two games in the Lakers (two losses in a row) before the halftime of the season and did not return on Friday against the Pacers.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel explained today that the Spaniard will not play against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday either.
“He is not going to play these two games (Warriors and Wolves). I’m not sure after that, but it depends on the protocol from there,” he detailed to the media before the meeting.
Gasol, who joined the Lakers this season, has been the starting center for the Angelenos in their attempt to repeat the NBA ring they achieved in the “bubble” of Orlando (USA).
The center averages 4.8 points (40.3% in field goals, 36.5% in triples), 4.1 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.3 blocks in 20 minutes per game.
Although these are his worst numbers in his career in the NBA, coach Frank Vogel has supported Gasol time and again, ensuring that with his signing they were not looking for points in attack but intelligence in the distribution of offense, ability to pass from the post, and veteran and solid defense.
The Lakers have not only suffered the loss of Gasol in recent weeks but have not been able to count on the injured Anthony Davis, who is their great reference in the interior game.
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