What we learned as Klay drops 33 in Dubs' win over Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Warriors will take as many gimme-games as possible to close out the regular season. Thursday night at Chase Center was supposed to be one of them against the Los Angeles Lakers' JV squad.
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The Lakers, eliminated from NBA playoff contention, were without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. Steve Kerr, as he has done a handful of times this season, cautioned ahead of tipoff that the Warriors couldn't play down to their competition.
For the most part, the message wasn't received -- despite a 128-112 win by the Warriors.
Yes, the Warriors won their third straight game. They also left plenty to be desired and a future long film session is on the horizon with only two games left in the regular season. Golden State will take the win, just as much as the Warriors must be better going forward.
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Here are three takeaways from an uninspired win that improved the Warriors to 51-29 in their final regular-season home game, keeping them one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Peaking At The Right Time
Klay Thompson scored 36 points the last game he played in, with 24 coming in the second half on Saturday. After sitting in the Warriors' win Sunday against the Kings and having a solid break between games, Klay's shooting stroke carried over into this game against the Lakers.
He scored 23 points in the first half while going 6-for-10 from the 3-point line. That's his most for a first half all season long. Klay scored 10 more points in the third quarter, two in the fourth and finished with 33.
Over his last two games, Thompson has scored 69 points. This was his sixth career 30-point game against the Lakers and the fifth time he has scored at least 30 points this season. The Splash Brother just might have found his shot at the perfect time.
Jordan Poole's Streak Ends
Jordan Poole had scored at least 20 points in 17 straight games coming into Thursday night's contest. The streak ended there. He scored 19.
Poole didn't have the same scoring spark he has so many times in the last month, and never exactly caught fire. He also wasn't the focal point of the offense for much of the night. That belonged to Thompson.
Though his 20-point streak came to a close, Poole did dish out a career-high 11 assists. The third-year pro hit the 10-assist mark once this season, and his high through his first two seasons was six.
Foul Trouble Continues
There are a lot of problems that Steph Curry will help fix right away when he presumably returns for the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors better hope one of those problems he can help erase is their non-stop desire to foul. Against better teams, it will cost them.
And it has this season.
The Warriors in the first quarter took two free throws. The Lakers attempted 11 and made 10 as they went into the second frame with a five-point lead. By halftime, the Lakers had 20 free throw attempts and the Warriors had six. The Lakers took five more free throws in the third, and the Warriors didn't shoot once from the charity stripe.
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By the end of the win, the Warriors made all 10 of their free throws. The Lakers attempted 38, making 29 of them -- or 19 more points from the line than the Warriors. Come playoff time, this simply cannot keep happening.
