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NBA fans on
While the Dubs fell to New York, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks 136-105 at home, giving the Lakers the ninth seed at 37-32, one game ahead of the Warriors 35-32.
The Warriors and Lakers have been swapping the ninth seed for a while now, and fans didn’t miss the opportunity to clown Golden State after they were once again topped by Los Angeles on Monday:
???????????? @HoodiiBron
The Lakers win and the Warriors lose
What a beautiful night????pic.twitter.com/WfGgbpjeyH
LakeShowYo @LakeShowYo
society when the Lakers win and the Warriors lose pic.twitter.com/9aJ5WwGcUZ
CaptainMDP @Dyjon54
Lakers win, Warriors lose pic.twitter.com/bCI0l9Qlxq
LeThanos ???? @lethanos_goat
Lakers win and Warriors L pic.twitter.com/wtkHKia0SF
clxtn @ur_boyclxtn
Warriors at 10th seed every other day. pic.twitter.com/QH4Vad8nqa
While the Knicks are 41-27 on the season and are potential championship contenders when fully healthy, they were without two of their three best players Monday, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby.
Golden State had no defensive answer for All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, who scored a game-high 34 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds.
Additionally, Miles McBride had his best game of the campaign for New York, finishing with a game-high 29 points.
As is usually the case, Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 27 points, but he didn’t get much help, especially from his fellow starter.
Only one other starter scored in double figures, as Draymond Green scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting and Andrew Wiggins recorded seven points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Golden State’s bench kept the team in the game, as Trayce Jackson-Davis, Klay Thompson and Chris Paul all scored between 14 and 19 points.
The Warriors were in fine form after a 128-121 victory over the Lakers on Saturday to capture the No. 9 seed, but superstar big man Anthony Davis played just 12 minutes for Los Angeles in that game due to of an eye injury.
AD was back in the lineup and on top of his game in Monday’s Lakers win, proving once again that they can be a force with a fully healthy roster led by Davis and LeBron James.
Given that the Dubs were healthy on Monday, with the exception of Moses Moody, the loss to New York was somewhat unexpected.
The Warriors can take solace in the fact that they still have the inside track to a playoff spot with a three-game lead over the 11th-place Houston Rockets, but their chances of entering the top six are fading as they trail the sixth-place Sacramento Kings by four games.
