OAKLAND -- The Warriors overcome their wobbling and staggering and occasional disunity Saturday night to pull out a 115-101 win over the Lakers at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors took a 63-58 lead into the third quarter, only to have the Lakers open the second half with a 20-6 run to go up by nine. The defending champs responded by closing the quarter with a 19-8 run, taking an 88-86 lead into the fourth.
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They put it away with a 20-8 run in the middle of the fourth.
Here are three takeaways from the game that moved the Warriors’ record to 37-15:
The odd Curry-Iguodala tag team
When Stephen Curry wasn’t providing, Andre Iguodala did.
Golden State Warriors
Iguodala scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 4 from deep. In three games against the Lakers this season, he has 46 points on 19-of-24 shooting, including 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Though Iguodala’s scoring usually is a bonus, it was needed on this night.
That’s because Curry had a miserable first half, scoring 2 points on 0-of-7 shooting -- his first half without a field goal in at least five attempts since April 5, 2016. He missed his lone shot in the third quarter, entering the fourth still with two points, on 0 of 8.
Curry scored 12 points in the fourth and was an important factor in helping the Warriors find a path to victory.
Boogie’s Night
In Part VII of DeMarcus Cousins’ comeback, there was early frustration caused by committing two fouls in the first two minutes and intermittent frustration caused by a body not always able to comply with his desires.
It’s apparent he is pushing himself in an effort to return to his previous level and that he gets upset when it’s clear he can’t.
The high of the night came when he generated enough lift to posterize Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma. Cousins was so pleased with himself that he glared at the fallen Laker, earning a technical foul for taunting.
On the whole, Cousins played OK: 18 points (5 of 15 from the field, 7 of 7 from the free-throw line), 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He was plus-4 over 25 minutes.
Punished on the glass
The general rebounding numbers don’t look awful -- Lakers 49, Warriors 45 -- but LA made sure the home team paid for its lack of fundamentals.
Poor blockouts and occasional indifference by the Warriors allowed the Lakers to pull 13 rebounds on the offensive glass. Moreover, those extra opportunities propelled LA to a whopping 21-4 margin in second-chance points.
The Warriors often talk about the little things, and how important they are to success. Blocking out comes up as often as turnovers.
If not for finding a way to come back and grab the win, this would have been a major issue in defeat.