3 takeaways after Warriors beat Lakers, secure major result in play-in picture

The Golden State Warriors wasted a lot of this season, but they may have peaked at the right time, just in time.

The Warriors went down to Los Angeles to beat the Lakers in a 134-120 win, securing an all-important tiebreaker that may see them host a play-in game at Chase Center.

A second quarter run and scorched earth shooting

This was a game of the Lakers smacking the Warriors in the face to start the final three quarters, and asking the Warriors to respond.

In each of those quarters, the Warriors did just that. There was a constant threat that the Lakers would turn a brief run into a game-breaking one.

The separating factor was the Warriors' shooting from deep. They were ruthless, especially in the first half. They started 12-of-17 from range, and finished 26-of-41 (63.4 percent) . Those 26 3-pointers were a season high for Golden State, just shy of their team record of 27. The NBA record, by the Milwaukee Bucks, is 29.

In the middle of the second, the Warriors went on 16-2 run after an early push from the Lakers. When their lead got down to five points in the third, the Warriors finished with a 10-0 run to close the quarter up 17 points. And when the Lakers started on an 8-0 run, Golden State responded again.

It's difficult to measure themselves against an Anthony Davis-less team, but that is so often what the Lakers are. Either way, it was a resilient, and lights-out shooting performance.

Draymond living on that edge, and everyone feeding off it

The most absurd part of this game was the 3-point shooting from Draymond Green. Green started the game 5-of-5 from deep. As you might surmise, he was not quiet after hitting those shots.

Green was absolutely excellent, and at his aggressive best. That almost showed up negatively, when Green was hit in the face by Austin Reaves, and argued with referees for a foul near the Lakers bench. He avoided a technical, but soon after, the Lakers' Jaxson Hayes picked one up. The broadcast clearly showed Hayes asking how he picked up a technical when Green had escaped without one.

That's Green's impact at his best. He bothers the hell out of other team while bringing out the best from the Warriors. He had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, a block and 4 turnovers.

Golden State's outrageous shooting was a product of some stellar ball movement. It got nearly everyone involved.

Stephen Curry had 23 points on a perfect 3-pointing night (6-of-6) with 7 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal, 2 blocks and a turnover.

Klay Thompson had 27 points, going 5-of-10 from deep. Andrew Wiggins had 17 on 3-of-5 from deep. Brandin Podziemski had 13, hitting all three 3-pointers he took. Gary Payton II had 9. Jonathan Kuminga (the only Warriors who had a bad night) had 8, 6, 3 and a steal. Oh, and Chris Paul had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. It was extremely well rounded.

The play-in situation

So, the Warriors won. We all know that's significant. But what, exactly, are the scenarios here? What does it all mean?

What it means is that if the Warriors win their final three games, they will, at minimum, host a play-in game at Chase Center. They have won the tiebreaker against the Lakers, who have two games remaining.

If the Lakers lose either of their final two games to the Memphis Grizzlies or New Orleans Pelicans, and the Warriors win two of their final three, the Warriors will also take the nine seed and the Lakers will take the 10 seed.

But where it gets very interesting for the Warriors is if they can win out, and the Kings keep struggling. Sacramento lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night and would have lost ground to the Lakers if the result had gone differently.

In order for the Warriors to jump the Kings, they most likely need to win out, and the Kings need to lose two of their final three, in which they host the Pelicans, Suns and Trail Blazers.

That scenario may be too much to ask, but Golden State may, at the very least, be heading for a single-game play-in hosted at Chase Center. Given their 24-16 road record and 20-19 home record, maybe that's not a good thing. We shall (likely) see.