Lakers stun Warriors, end Steph’s 3-point streak
LOS ANGELES >> Lou Williams scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped Stephen Curry’s NBA-record streak of 157 games with a 3-pointer in a 117-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
Julius Randle had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the rebuilding Lakers, who pulled off their second straight shocking home upset of the mighty Warriors with an impressive effort from their exciting young roster.
Lakers coach Luke Walton also won his first meeting with his former team and his coaching mentor, Steve Kerr.
Curry scored 13 points while going 0 for 10 from 3-point range, ending several incredible long-distance streaks. He had hit a 3-pointer in every regular-season game since March 14, 2015.
Including the postseason, Curry had at least one 3 in 196 straight games, and he had also hit in 116 straight regular-season road games — both NBA records.
Walton was Kerr’s assistant during the Warriors’ 2014-15 championship season and again last year, when he led Golden State to a 39-4 start while Kerr was recovering from a back injury.
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Golden State didn’t lose its second game under Walton that year until Dec. 30, but these reconfigured Warriors are off to a 4-2 start with this shocker coming one night after an important victory over Oklahoma City.
The young, exciting Lakers jumped to a 21-point lead in the third quarter with ball movement resembling the Warriors’ style. They fought off star-studded Golden State’s challenge in the fourth quarter with huge games from Williams and Randle, their versatile forward. D’Angelo Russell added 17 points, and rookie Brandon Ingram had 12.
Golden State lost 112-95 to the Lakers at Staples Center in March, one of the biggest regular-season upsets in NBA history and one of the Warriors’ mere nine losses last season.
One night after Kevin Durant scored 39 points against his former Thunder teammates, the Warriors got off to an awfully slow start in LA.
The Warriors scored a season-low 15 points in the first quarter. That’s also the fewest points allowed by the Lakers in any quarter this season.
Golden State missed its first seven 3-pointers, only getting its first on Andre Iguodala’s buzzer-beater. Durant, Curry and Klay Thompson were a combined 5 for 18.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Durant scored at least 20 points for his 70th straight game, surpassing Michael Jordan’s 1990-91 streak and matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the sixth-longest such streak in NBA history. … G Patrick McCaw is still out with an ankle injury. … Drake, Denzel Washington, Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig and Kings goalie Jonathan Quick were among the crowd that turned out to see the revamped Western Conference champions.
Lakers: Timofey Mozgov played despite a bruise around his left eye, courtesy of an elbow from Indiana’s Jeff Teague earlier this week. The Russian center was considered doubtful for the game after missing Wednesday’s win in Atlanta, but Mozgov played 16 minutes. … The Lakers wore throwback uniforms from their Showtime era, although their current uniforms are only slightly different.
LUKE’S GUYS
Walton couldn’t start work with the Lakers until Golden State lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year, but the former Lakers forward immediately set out to build a team with ample use of Kerr’s blueprint. Walton joked that he had been getting trash talk from his former players, and he replied with some of his own.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Host Pelicans on Monday.
Lakers: Host Suns on Sunday.