The Los Angeles Lakers enjoyed the most improbable victory of the season Sunday against the visiting Golden State Warriors, shocking the defending NBA champions with a 112-95 win.
🚨 Upset Alert 🚨 The @Lakers (13-51) beat the @Warriors (55-6). Final score: 112-95. pic.twitter.com/kONihEsIj8
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) March 6, 2016
Kobe Bryant in his post-game interview on ABC: "Every game, you just try to appreciate it more and more." pic.twitter.com/THeDKwYhu9
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) March 6, 2016
Steve Kerr on Lakers: "I'm happy for them. I really am. That's a tough season to go through, and it's no fun to be on that end of things."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) March 7, 2016
Needless to say, the Lakers’ youngsters were thrilled with the unexpected win. Kobe Bryant, though? Not so much …
The Warriors were uncharacteristically awful at shooting the ball, missing 26 of their 30 attempts from behind the arc.
Per the LA Daily News:
“Our guys played about as hard as they played all season long,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “It was the best game we played against the best team.”
Despite the concern on last year’s NBA regular-season MVP, Lakers rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell had enough ice in his veins to top Warriors guard Stephen Curry in points (21-18), shooting clip (6 of 14, 6 of 20), 3-pointers (3 of 7, 1 of 10) and assists (5-4). Russell also added a career-high four steals. […] “When you first come into the league, you’re fans of people, As the season goes on, they become just another player,” Russell said. “He’s just another player out there for me.”
Even if he nursed a strained tendon in his left knee that sidelined him for a game, Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson beat Warriors guard Klay Thompson in points (25-15), shooting clip (10 of 21, 7 of 20) and 3-pointers (4 of 6, 0 of 8). […] “If you want to get measured or get talked about being a young backcourt that has a chance to be very good, then you’ve got to measure up against these two guys,” Scott said. “I thought they took the challenge.”