Stephen Curry delivered 37 points on Thursday night as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 123-116 at Crypto.com Arena, snapping a three-game season series skid and tightening the Western Conference playoff race.
Brandin Podziemski added 28 points, shooting 8-for-10 from beyond the arc, helping Golden State close out a six-game road trip with a 4-2 record.
The Warriors improved to 45-31, remaining fifth in the Western Conference, one game behind the fourth-place Lakers (46-30), whom they could face in the opening round.
Podziemski’s eight threes were a career high, and they came in a game where Curry made just 4 of his 11 attempts from deep.
The two-guard tandem proved lethal in the fourth quarter after the Lakers closed within six with under four minutes to go.
Following a Luka Doncic bucket that made it 105-99, Curry and Podziemski knocked down consecutive threes, which were answered by LeBron James and Austin Reaves to keep Los Angeles within seven.
James paced the Lakers with 33 points and nine assists, while Reaves poured in 31 and shot 9-for-16 from three-point range, both career highs in triples made and attempted. Rui Hachimura added 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Golden State held a 60-47 lead at halftime after limiting the Lakers to 25 points in the second quarter and outscoring them 34-25 in the frame.
Curry broke the game open in the third, scoring 13 straight points and then converting three free throws to push the Warriors’ lead back to double digits after James had cut the deficit to eight.
The 37-year-old point guard shot 10-for-21 from the field and 13-for-14 at the free-throw line, coming off a 52-point outing in Memphis on Tuesday.
Jonathan Kuminga added 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench, providing key energy as Golden State won in Los Angeles for the first time since April 2023.
Draymond Green contributed eight points, 11 rebounds and five assists, helping limit the Lakers to just 38.3% from three-point range despite the Reaves outburst.
The Warriors made 19 threes at a 45.2% clip and shot 83.9% from the foul line, converting 26 of 31 attempts, including two late free throws by Curry after Dončić fouled him with under 20 seconds remaining.
Jimmy Butler finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 36 minutes, a quiet night by his standards after posting 27 points in Memphis earlier in the week.
Doncic had 19 points, seven assists and eight rebounds but missed all six of his three-point attempts and committed a technical foul during the second half.
The Lakers trimmed the margin to five in the final minute after a Reaves triple, but were unable to get another stop before Curry sealed it at the stripe.
Los Angeles committed eight turnovers and allowed 14 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 17 second-chance points for Golden State.
The Purple and Gold now sit just one game ahead of Golden State in the standings with six contests left, and are trying to avoid falling into the play-in tournament for a second straight season.
