Geoff JohnsonThe Los Angeles Lakers left an ‘easy’ game slipped on Friday night; they need to bounce back if they want to continue the playoffs hunt as they visit the Golden State Warriors, one of their direct rivals for that last spot in the western conference. The game will start Monday at 10:30 PM ET.
Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol returned from injuries against Washington on Friday night, but it didn’t help for the Lakers as their surrendered their 34th loss of the season.
“It’s a disturbing loss, and we’re upset about it,” Bryant said. “Our defensive intensity slipped a great deal in the second half, and they took advantage of it.
“We messed up on rotations and left guys wide open. All of a sudden they were in the game,” Gasol said. “We stopped hustling on certain plays. You can’t allow a guy to take a wide-open shot. It was one thing after another.”
The Warriors will face the Wizards on Sunday, and they need to avoid a situation like the Lakers went through on Friday. Golden State lost to the Spurs on Wednesday as they never could stop Tim Duncan.
“Tim made plays, and that is what he does,” Curry said. “We got back into it and had a chance to win at the end. If I would have made that second to last 3 I took that would have changed the game.”
The Lakers have been an inconsistent team the whole year, but they have beaten the Warriors both times they’ve played this season.
