LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry belatedly celebrated his birthday by returning to Golden State’s lineup and leading the Warriors to a well-deserved victory.
Curry, who turned 36 on Thursday, scored 31 points after missing the last three games with a sprained right ankle as the Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 on Saturday night in a game crucial of the Western Conference.
“Steph is Steph. He’s just incredible,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He got off to a slow start, but he never worries and we never worry. What he does is open the floor to everyone.
The Warriors moved ahead of the Lakers by a percentage point into ninth place in the West after winning a game that lasted until the end due to two replays – one that knocked down an apparent LeBron James 3-pointer – then a clock malfunction. .
James had 40 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. D’Angelo Russell added 23 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who lost their last two games.
If the season ended Saturday, the Warriors would host the Lakers in the play-in tournament, with the loser eliminated. Both teams are 3 1/2 games behind Phoenix for sixth place and escape the play-in games, but time is running out.
“I was excited just to be back. You understand the long-term ramifications. Every game, especially against mixed teams in play-ins, counts,” said Curry, who was 12 of 24 from the field with six rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes.
Klay Thompson added 26 off the bench and Jonathan Kuminga 23 as the Warriors dominated play inside and steadily drove to the rim after Lakers All-Star center Anthony Davis did not play the final three periods after receiving a poke in the eye at the end of the first quarter. .
Golden State took advantage of Davis’ injury to dominate inside. The Warriors outscored the Lakers by six points and had a 62-54 advantage in points in the paint.
Draymond Green was held to six points, but had 13 assists and 12 rebounds after missing the last game with back pain.
Curry had six points during a 10-2 third-quarter run that gave the Warriors a 91-79 lead. Neither team had a lead of more than seven points until then.
“They made some adjustments at halftime. In the third quarter we came out and missed some really good shots after taking a good look. They played better than us in the third,” James said.
Thompson had 21 points in the first half as the Warriors held a 67-66 halftime lead. It was the second time this season Thompson scored at least 20 in the first half.
James, who was 6 of 16 from the field in Wednesday night’s loss at Sacramento, was 15 of 23 against the Warriors. He made his first six shots, including three 3-pointers.
A Thompson 3-pointer with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter gave the Warriors a 113-101 advantage, before the Lakers began to slowly come back.
James appeared to make a 3-pointer with 2:07 left to bring the Lakers within four, but during a stoppage of play 17 seconds later, the replay center determined that James’ foot was out of bounds and took away the basket.
The turnover ended any momentum for the Lakers. The Warriors put the game away when Curry stole the ball from James and passed it to Kuminga for a breakaway dunk to make the score 126-117.
“We go back and do a big plan. The guys push each other, fight each other and then boom, everything stops. So it just took the rhythm out of the game,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
FOLLOWING
Warriors: Host the New York Knicks on Monday.
Lakers: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
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