With the All-Star Break in the rearview, the Warriors got back to business to kick off the second "half" of the season (with 29 games left). Thursday night was a Steph Curry-led effort that manifested in a 128-110 win.
Golden State beat a Lakers team with LeBron James convincingly, in a way they almost certainly would not have earlier this year. Here are three takeaways from the win, which hold the Warriors' 10th-place spot in the West at 27-26.
Steph + Draymond
This was a tone-setting performance from the Curry-Green duo from the outset. Draymond Green fed Stephen Curry early in the game, as he got off to an outstanding start.
Curry hit from deep early, and had 25 points in the first half alone. That sort of work allowed him and Green to sit late.
He finished with 32 points (12-of-24, 6-of-13 from deep), 8 assists, 3 steals and a rebound.
Green, meanwhile, was the engine. He organized the game from the high post on either end of the floor, directing traffic and facilitating efficiently.
He had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and one turnover, with 6 of his points coming from deep. He hit both of his 3-pointers Thursday night. Don't look now, but... he's shooting 43.5 percent (34-of-78) from deep this season, by far his career best.
His volume is way below other qualified shooters, but it's hilarious to note that 43.5 percent would put him ahead of Curry (42.1 percent) and one spot behind Kevin Durant (43.7 percent).
Green is playing excellent ball, and there's no question his return sparked this team. All of the doubt about his place with the Warriors evaporated rather quickly when he returned.
They look like they're... having fun?
There have been myriad issues for the Golden State Warriors this season, but when they found themselves in their roughest stretches, there was a pervasive sense of doubt.
Jonathan Kuminga took to the media to not at all subtly express his lack of confidence in Steve Kerr. Draymond Green got himself indefinitely suspended, and the roster collapsed with injuries around that stretch.
The vibes were cursed. They were fundamentally not good.
Thursday night was a major departure from that. They looked organized, fluid, confident. They played with that joy and swagger that has so often driven opponents crazy.
Now, it was against a Lakers team lacking LeBron James. But would anyone have been surprised if the Warriors of yestermonth lost this game? I think not.
This is exactly the sort of game that they would have let slip in months past. But their defense was intentional. They did not foul the Lakers rampantly. They cut, they switched, they screened, they rebounded.
They got a 13-point run from Trayce Jackson-Davis in the second quarter, and five double-digit scorers. They were playing their brand as well as they have all year, and got positive contributions from every player on the floor..
No more apparent was that joy than on the two quarter-ending buzzer beaters in the second and third.
In the second, Brandin Podziemski took a deep, wayward three that Andrew Wiggins managed to rebound and chuck up and bounce in. He left the court with a fist pump and a smile, as the Warriors headed into the half with an 11- point lead.
In the third, Jonathan Kuminga did something similar. He got his shot rejected, but gathered it, then tossed up a weird angle floater. It, too, went in. He and Wiggins both smiled, as did the entire Warriors bench.
Maybe it's a silly thing to point out, but the Warriors have always been a team whose energy comes from a place of joy. It's glaring when that is lacking, and apparent when it's present.
Klay contributes on rough shooting night
It took until the late third quarter for Klay Thompson to get the lid off the basket, when he hit a leaning 3 with a couple defenders in his face. Make no mistake, his shooting was horrific against the Lakers.
He had just those 3 points on 1-of-9 from the field and 1-of-4 from deep, a game after he responded to his benching with a 35-point scorcher.
Those peaks and valleys are part of who Thompson is at this point in his career. It's going to happen. But the key for Thompson is remaining engaged outside of his shots, which, by the way, were mostly well-advised.
He realized his shot wasn't going in early, and started to consistently look for Jackson-Davis in the second quarter. A career 2.2-assist-per-game player, Thompson had 5 on Thursday, along with 4 rebounds and a steal.
The defense was there, too. He was maintaining solid position, and aside from a bad, open 3-pointer he allowed to start the fourth, he was a mostly positive impact despite the shooting.
Thompson's not going to hit one shot a night all that often, if ever. And while it can be argued that almost everyone else, including Lester Quinones (great energy, defense), outplayed him, Thompson was still a net positive. If he can consistently prove to be productive without needing to chuck, it'll support the Warriors massively down the stretch.
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