Golden State Warriors overcame a 25-point deficit to stun Los Angeles Lakers 112-95 in an NBA Cup game on Saturday, led by Stephen Curry’s 31 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Luka Doncic, who missed Lakers’ previous game due to an injury, scored 37 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but his team couldn’t make it back-to-back blowouts against Golden State after winning the teams’ season opener last week in LA.
It was the largest margin of victory in the shot clock era for a team that trailed by 20 or more points at end of the first quarter. On March 4, 1976, the Warriors trailed the Bulls 41-18 after one quarter and won by 14 at 124-110 – the previous best.
In the fourth, Curry passed Dominique Wilkins (26,668) for 18th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Brandin Podziemski added 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, while De’Anthony Melton scored 16 off the bench and fellow reserve Georges Niang 11 for the Warriors.
How Warriors bounced back at HT?
Doncic had 21 points on 7 for 12 shooting with five 3-pointers, five assists and a pair of steals through the first quarter as Lakers raced to a 38-15 lead. Warriors then outscored the Lakers by the same score in the second. It made Golden State the first team in the shot clock era to trail by 23 or more points at the end of first quarter and be tied or better at halftime.
Curry hit a 3 over Doncic at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter only for the Lakers star to knock one down from deep moments later on the other end. Doncic was whistled for a technical with 21.8 seconds left in the third, with fans chanting and booing at him, then teammate Matisse Thybulle received a technical in the fourth.
The Lakers capitalized on 17 Golden State turnovers for 25 points, 10 of those miscues in the opening period.
Luka Doncic joins legendary Kobe Bryant
Despite the defeat, Doncic’s 21 points in the opening quarter also placed him alongside legendary late Kobe Bryant in an unique list in Lakers NBA history as the only two Los Angeles Lakers player to have at least 10 20-point quarters since 2000.
It was also Doncic’s 33rd career 20-point quarter and 10th 20-point quarter for Lakers. Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, at the age of 41 in 2020, had recorded 36 20-point quarters between 2000 and his retirement in 2016.
Doncic has also surpassed James Harden as the third player to have most 20-point quarters since 2000 in the NBA. Out of his 33, eight of the Slovenian’s 20-point quarters have come in the first quarter, which is the most by any player in the history of the competition.