The Golden State Warriors took on the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night and Stephen Curry went viral on multiple occasions during that preseason contest. Toward the end of the second quarter, Austin Reaves drew a foul on Curry and the Warriors guard hilariously mocked him for flopping.
This is far from the first time that someone has accused Reaves of flopping. He has built up a reputation now for being a flopper and ended up shooting six free throws in this game, which was more than anyone else.
As for the second viral moment, that took place early in the third quarter. After D'Angelo Russell drilled a step-back three over Curry, he shimmied on his former teammate, only for the favor to be returned on the very next play.
I am not sure it was the smartest idea to shimmy on Curry on Russell's part. You don't want to poke that bear. As for why he might have done it, these two were chirping at each other last season. Curry was talking a lot of trash to Russell when the Warriors took on the Lakers back in March.
The Warriors emerged victorious that night and they were the winners here too. They led by as many as 21 points and ended up winning 111-97. Curry had 16 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals in the contest, but wasn't all that efficient. The 36-year-old went 6-18 from the field and 3-11 from beyond the arc.
Curry is now shooting 36.6% from the field and 28.0% from three this preseason, which is quite surprising. It's only a matter of time before he gets going, though, as was the case at the Olympics.
Despite Curry's shooting struggles, the Warriors are now 5-0 in the preseason. Youngsters Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga have impressed and it'll be interesting to see how big of an impact they will have in 2024-25.
As for the Lakers, this loss dropped them to 1-3 in the preseason. Outside shooting has been a problem for them so far and they went 11-40 from three against the Warriors. Russell was one of the few Lakers who managed to hit a shot from beyond the arc, going 2-6 to finish the night with six points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
The Lakers are shooting 29.5% from three in the preseason following that game and they'll have to make those shots at a much better rate when the actual games begin.
Related: Instant Analysis: 3 Key Reasons The Lakers Lost To The Warriors In Preseason Clash
D'Angelo Russell Thinks He Can Get As Hot As Stephen Curry
Russell has never been accused of lacking confidence in his abilities and made an interesting statement after Curry put in an excellent showing in the gold medal game against France at the Olympics. When a user on X stated that Russell could get as hot as Curry, the Lakers guard replied, "I humbly agree."
Unsurprisingly, Russell got bashed for that and was forced to delete the tweet. I do think he can get as hot as Curry, but, unfortunately, it doesn't happen all that often and almost never happens in the biggest moments. We witnessed that once again last season.
In the month of January for example, Russell averaged 22.7 points per game and shot 45.9% from three. He was taking over games and putting on a show back then. Fast forward to the playoffs, though, and Russell averaged 14.2 points per game and shot 31.8% from three as the Lakers lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. Until he gets more consistent, he should think twice before putting out statements like that.
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