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In a game where Stephen Curry and LeBron James traded 3-pointer after 3-pointer, it was the Golden State Warriors' Brandin Podziemski who stole the spotlight from the Los Angeles Lakers. Podziemski drained a career-high eight threes en route to 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, helping the Dubs take down the Lakers 123-116.
Whenever the Warriors needed a bucket, Podz was there. The second-year guard hit a huge half-court buzzer-beater, pushing the lead to 13 as the two teams headed to the locker room. And with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers carving into the Dubs' double-digit lead, Podziemski hit a huge pull-up 3-pointer in transition.
In what felt like a playoff atmosphere at the Crypto Center, Curry talked about Podziemski and the rest of the team rising to the occasion.
“We set a goal of trying to lift our level of play. [We've been] preparing for hopefully a playoff series, but we know every game matters down the stretch.” Curry said. The two-time MVP outdueled James's 33 points with 37 points and 6 assists. “That's what you love to play for. It's special.”
While the headline Curry-LeBron showdown featured fireworks from both future Hall of Famers, it was the Dubs' defense that won them the night.
The Warriors built the lead they never surrendered between the 4:20 mark in the first quarter and the 5:48 mark in the second quarter. During that stretch, the Dubs held the Lakers to 2-of-18 shooting. The Warriors' defense was able to limit Luka Doncic's damage all night long. The Dubs forced Doncic to only 6-of-17 shooting, frustrating the recently traded star all night long.
But Draymond Green was the star of the Warriors' defensive efforts. He oscillated from guarding James and Doncic to anchoring the defense as the small-ball center. His Defensive Player-of-the-Year caliber game was capped off with a crucial strip on a Doncic layup attempt that would have cut the Warriors' lead down to a single possession.
Draymond Green strips Luka Doncic in crunchtime!
DPOY lock?pic.twitter.com/HrWzak5cay
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 4, 2025
Kuminga returns, plays in the closing lineup
The other subplot of another Steph-LeBron classic was Jonathan Kuminga's play. Kuminga returned to the lineup after nursing a pelvic contusion the last couple of games. He finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds, earning Kerr's trust to play in the closing lineup.
After the game, Kerr discussed Kuminga's potential in relation to this team's ceiling.
“I liked that he played the role that we really needed from him,” Kerr said. He pointed out Kuminga's defense as the biggest contribution. “It was a [defensive] switching game. We switched a lot, and he was great defensively staying in front of guys. Just played a really, really solid game. Did exactly what we needed.”
Green also talked about Kuminga's growth in his press conference.
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“[He] takes this team to another level. He was patient and let the game come to him, and he got going downhill as soon as he got in there. I thought the most mature play he made was when he got into the middle of the paint and kicked it out to Moses [Moody]. It just shows growth,” Green said. “We challenged him in private, we challenged him publicly to step up on the defensive end, and he did that. He was great offensively, but he was even better defensively.”
Kuminga played a perfect balance of attacking the right matchups and moving the ball. And the small-ball Dubs desperately needed his rebounding on the defensive end. Kuminga's rebounding has always come and gone, which is why Kerr's been inconsistent with his minutes in the past. However, versus Los Angeles, Kuminga was all over the defensive glass. If he keeps up this level of play, he raises the ceiling of the Warriors immensely.
But in Curry's eyes, there's been too much judgment on Kuminga's night-to-night performance, as he said in his post-game press conference.
“I think we need to just let this guy play basketball,” Curry said. “We don’t have to have a declaration after every game. We don’t have to be in a situation where we are judging every minute he’s out there.”
Warriors clinging to the 5th seed
The Warriors are 20-4 since trading for Jimmy Butler, and it's put them in a prime position to secure a spot in the playoffs– without having to go through the play-in tournament. But with the rest of the West refusing to slow down, it's difficult not to feel like every single one of those 20 wins has been mandatory.
With the win against the Lakers, the Dubs maintained a hold on the fifth seed in the West. Had they lost, the Warriors would have slipped to the eighth seed, as the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and Clippers all lurk closely behind them.
But there's little rest for the weary. The Dubs return to Chase Center after a six-game road trip to face the three-seed Denver Nuggets before a Sunday showdown with the two-seed Houston Rockets. A win against the Nuggets opens the door to chasing home court in the first round. A loss makes things a lot more complicated.
Regardless, Curry's gotten his wish of being able to play in meaningful basketball games to close his career. And as he said in the same post-game press conference:
“I love playing, I love the atmosphere, watching this game tonight, I hope it was entertaining. Basketball is in a really good place.
