| Advertisement |
LOS ANGELES -- Luke Walton and the Los Angeles Lakers hope to catch the Golden State Warriors on a downturn when the clubs meet Friday night at Staples Center. Walton, Golden State coach Steve Kerr's top assistant for the previous two seasons, will be facing the Warriors for the first time in a regular-season game as the Lakers' head coach. The teams met twice during the exhibition season, with the Warriors recording wins in both.
Advertisement
Golden State (4-1) prevailed in an emotional and sometimes-heated 122-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at Oracle Arena. In his first meeting with his former club, Kevin Durant scored 29 of his season-high 39 points in the first half as the Warriors rolled.
Durant also had some salty exchanges with some of his ex-teammates, most notably Enes Kanter. He was quiet early on before the Thunder raced to a double-digit lead early and then Jerami Grant dunked on the 6-foot-9 forward and let him know about it.
"When you get dunked on like that, you want to come back and try to ignite your team," Durant said. "When the other team is dunking, I just try to go out and do the same. Over the course of the game, I try to make plays and get them back that way. It definitely sparked something in me."
The Warriors return to the City of Angels with a little payback in mind. In their last meeting on March 6, the Lakers stunned the Warriors by beating them 112-95, one of only nine losses against Golden State en route to its NBA-record 73 wins.
With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson having one of their worst shooting performances, missing 17 of the 18 attempts from behind the 3-point arc, the Lakers feasted for one of their 17 wins.
The Lakers (2-3) earned their first road decision of the season Wednesday by beating the previously unbeaten Hawks 123-116 in Atlanta, allowing Los Angeles to go 1-3 on a four-game road trip. Lou Williams scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Lakers.
"I think it's just good for the guys," Walton said after the win, according to the Los Angeles Times. "They've been giving a hell of an effort all year. Training camp, preseason. When you can hear the joy in their voice and them having fun after they win instead of the quiet locker room when they lose, it's nice, and I think it makes it easier to continue to want to work hard, when you know that feeling's at the end of the tunnel."
Los Angeles center Timofey Mozgov is listed as doubtful for the contest against the Warriors. Mozgov sustained a soft tissue contusion around his left eye in a Tuesday defeat against the Indiana Pacers. Although tests were negative for any factures or a concussion, Mozgov sat out the Lakers' win over the Hawks. His status for Sunday's game against the Phoenix Suns is unknown.
Lakers rookie Ivica Zubac started in Mozgov's place against the Hawks. Zubac scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in 18 foul-plagued minutes. Zubac or Tarik Black probably will get the start against Golden State.
