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The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers went to battle Wednesday night to close the first round of the play-in tournament. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 37 points, and his long-time rival LeBron James recorded a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
After being poked in the eye by Warriors Draymond Green, a three-point bomb with the shot clock running out by LeBron James sealed the game for the Lakers. James' game-winning shot was made right in the face of the long-range specialist Curry.
“It's a great shot…all-time great players make great shots,” Curry told ClutchPoints.
Stephen Curry talked about LeBron James' game-winning shot. "It's a great shot…all-time great players make great shots."
— Mark Haynes (@markhaynesnba) May 20, 2021
Leading up to the final three-point basket by James, the Warriors' defense was nearly perfect. And to make this a winnable game, it needed to be perfect.
“It was a broken play I kind of sunk in thinking he was out of the play. They found him. He got his balance just in time and knocked it down. That was a tough one because you don't really expect it to go in. You expect us to get the rebound [to] come down in transition and have a possession to take the lead. But everything changes when it goes in,” the Warriors star explained further.
Golden State relinquished the game 103-100 after leading for most of the contest. Coach Kerr described the contest as a very emotional game. But that's expected when two transcendent superstars like Stephen Curry and LeBron James go head-to-head.
On Friday, the Dubs will face the Memphis Grizzlies in a one-game elimination match. After recently defeating the Ja Morant-led Grizzlies in the final game of the regular season, the Warriors are entering that contest knowing what it takes to beat them. But their confidence will need to match their play if they want to get past a hungry young Memphis team