It’s been at least a month since the Los Angeles Lakers had a game like the one they had on Sunday night. Their defense was spectacular at times on Friday but on Sunday they finally got their offense up to speed with their defense in a complete dismantling of the Golden State Warriors, who entered Sunday night having won their last three games.
LeBron James had a game-high 19 points to go with six rebounds, and four rebounds, as well as three 3-pointers, to help pace the Lakers to back-to-back victories. Sunday night marks their first back-to-back victories since losing Anthony Davis to injury exactly two weeks ago.
The Lakers shot 11 for 31 from the 3-point line and they also scored 22 points off of Warriors turnovers, taking advantage of 20 turnovers from the Warriors, which was largely helped by the absence of Draymond Green, who left Sunday night’s game with an ankle injury in the first half and did not return.
LeBron James making his All-Defense case
Another thing that the return of Dennis Schröder has allowed for has been an even stronger presence on the defensive end for LeBron James. After grabbing four steals in Friday’s win over the Lakers, James had two blocks and two steals in Sunday night’s win over the Warriors, as well as countless smart rotations, coverage calls, and switches throughout the game. Tonight’s win not only strengthened LeBron’s case as the NBA MVP for this season, but it also strengthened his case to be on the NBA’s All-Defense First Team. James hasn’t made an All-Defense team since 2014 and hasn’t been on the First Team since 2013. While it may not have been the case during the week without Dennis Schröder, as soon as the Lakers starting point guard returned, so did their amazing defense. And LeBron’s voice, as well as his strong body, is usually getting everyone into their right place.