Lakers beat Warriors 115-113 in James-Curry matchup, Anthony Davis leaves game with ankle sprain

On By Littum

The 53rd matchup between LeBron James and Stephen Curry was the latest chapter in their great rivalry, with James’ Los Angeles Lakers defeating Curry’s Golden State Warriors 115-113 in a classic Christmas Day matchup on Wednesday.

Without leading scorer Anthony Davis and in the midst of a Curry 3-point storm, the Lakers leaned on Austin Reaves, whose game-winning layup with 1.0 seconds left capped his first triple-double of the season (26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists ) and the third of his career. He stepped up in a big way after Davis left the game midway through the first quarter after suffering a sprained left ankle.

The Lakers had already entered the game shorthanded, with leading bench scorer D’Angelo Russell ruled out 90 minutes before tip-off with a left thumb sprain he suffered in the previous game against the Detroit Pistons. They were also without half of their frontcourt: backup wing Jarred Vanderbilt and backup centers Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood remain out for the foreseeable future. Then they lost Davis, their best player and defensive pivot.

As he pulled back for a defensive rebound, Davis’ left ankle buckled as he fell to the ground in instant pain. He tried to play through the injury, but was eventually subbed out and gingerly walked back to the locker room at the 4:48 mark of the first quarter. Davis said he will “be OK” and will play against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, according to ESPN.

Davis finished the game with 0 points on 0-for-3 shooting, two rebounds and a steal in seven minutes. He has been dealing with left plantar fasciitis, which has limited his mobility since the second week of the season. This was the fourth time Davis has gone back to the locker room during a game due to injury and the second time he has been suspended.

James led the Lakers with 31 points and 10 assists in a spirited performance. He hustled into the paint and played bully against a Warriors front line that he enjoys attacking. He dissected Golden State’s defense in the post from all over the floor, finding cutters and shooters for layups and 3s. He was active and engaged defensively, switching to Curry and Golden State’s perimeter weapons and covering significant ground sideline to sideline.

Rui Hachimura had 18 points, finishing on five 3-pointers and making a key and-1 late. He ended up playing a ton of center as the Lakers outplayed the Warriors at their own game. The Lakers took care of the ball, turned it over just nine times and largely kept pace with the Warriors behind the arc. They made 15 3-pointers to Golden State’s 18.

More notably, Max Christie added 16 points and chased Curry as best he could, though Curry often got the better end of the game with 38 points on 14-for-24 shooting. Dalton Knecht broke out of his month-long slump with 13 points, his first time in double figures since Dec. 6 at Atlanta.

After the Warriors used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 113-113, the Lakers had Reaves isolate Andrew Wiggins on the left wing and beat him to the rim for a scooping layup to seal the win. Golden State, out of timeouts, was unable to get a shot up before time expired.

With the win, the Lakers improved to 17-13 after 30 games. This is the point in the season where Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said he would evaluate the roster when he spoke at media day. Los Angeles is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference.

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(Photo: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)