LOS ANGELES — For the past decade, the three-point shot has been synonymous with the Golden State Warriors.
It's part of the nightly game plan for two of the most prolific perimeter shooters in NBA history. But it doesn't always work. But Thursday night's 134-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers was their calling card.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Warriors hit 63.4% on 26-of-41 shooting, the highest field goal percentage from distance in a single game in NBA history (minimum of 40 attempts). Attempt). To put this into perspective, there are over 3,400 NBA contests in which a team made at least 40 3-pointers.
“That's basically the game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We made a million threes…everybody started going. Shooting 63% from three is outrageous. We always try to turn the lights out, but it always happens. It's not.”
The most notable shooter was Draymond Green, who scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Stephen Curry went 6-for-6, Klay Thompson went 5-for-10, Andrew Wiggins and Brandin Podzemski each had three hits, and Gary Payton II scored two runs. The Warriors' 26 threes were tied for the third-most in a single game in franchise history.
It was also the second time Green, Curry and Thompson hit at least five treys in the same game.
The Lakers have long been a team that has kept Green away. He said they were the “worst” in the league with their game plan. According to Second Spectrum, four of Green's threes were wide open, meaning the closest defender was at least six feet away. This is tied for the most in a game this season.
Without Anthony Davis, the Lakers not only gave Green more space, but also repeatedly failed to assign Curry, leaving him wide open.
“Our game plan tonight was to let them make threes and make them shoot. That was our game plan and they executed that,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said. can't do anything about it.”
“It's different from ADs out there,” Green says. “He covers up so many mistakes that he has a completely different look when he's not on the court.”
With the win, the Warriors are now just a half-game behind the ninth-seeded Lakers. The Warriors also own the tiebreaker and will need to play one more game than LA, but if the Warriors win they will finish ahead of the Lakers.
Golden State is also one game behind the eighth-place Sacramento Kings. However, with no tiebreaker, the Warriors would have to lose at least two more games to the Kings, which could happen due to Sacramento's struggles.
“The biggest difference is [between the 8- and 9-seed] “If we can get an extra game to win two, that's big. If we can win eight, that would be unbelievable,” Green said. Take two swings and two bites of the apple and you'll love it. ”
The battle for seeding in the play-in tournament is much different than what Golden State has been accustomed to over the past decade.
“We're not the team we were,” Curry said. “Whatever happens next week, it's hard to compare to the past few years where it's announced, 'Oh, we've got the number one spot,' but at least it's worth playing.”
But the Warriors are coming to terms with this new reality. They do not believe that their sowing determines their identity. Rather, what matters is what you do with it.
“We take a lot of motivation from last year's Heat, who played two play-in games and got to the Finals,” Thompson said. “I think we're capable of a run like that. Obviously we can't look ahead, but we're ready for whatever happens. We know we can do it. It's a job that's too high for us. do not have.”
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.