LOS ANGELES — On the third game of this marathon six-game road trip, Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski had a chance to heave up an end-of-quarter half-court shot and, presumably protecting his percentages, shoveled it over to Jimmy Butler late enough that neither could get a shot off before the buzzer.
Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Butler all got on him. It’s an unwritten team rule: either take the late-quarter heave or give it up to someone who can get it off in time.
“The stickler about taking those shots is Steph,” Green said. “He hates (if you don’t).”
Podziemski had a chance at redemption in the second quarter of Thursday night’s road trip finale in Los Angeles. He received the inbound on the move with 2.6 seconds left in the half, zipped into the frontcourt and let fly a 35-foot runner that beat the buzzer.
Huge shot,” Green said. “Completely shifted the momentum back to us.
The Warriors beat the Lakers 123-116 to close their six-game trip with two big victories after winning in Memphis on Tuesday night. They’re now only one back in the loss column of both the third-seeded Denver Nuggets (who they face on Friday) and the Lakers, though they don’t have the tiebreaker against either.
Podziemski was a major factor in the Los Angeles win. The half-court runner was his sixth made 3-pointer of the night. His left-wing 3 with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the game — probably the dagger, put the Warriors up 10 — was his eighth made 3 of the night, a career-high. He finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
“He carried us in the first half,” Kerr said.
Curry leveraged the Lakers’ physical defensive approach into a season-high 14 free throws, providing an extra boost of production on a night his jumper wasn’t scorching. He finished with a game-high 37 points, giving him 89 combined in the last two games.
But the Warriors were outscored by a point with Curry on the floor. They were a plus-eight during his bench time. The most significant stretch came to open the fourth quarter. Curry had to play nearly the entire third quarter because Butler briefly left for the locker room after injuring his left forearm, meaning Curry needed an extended rest to open the fourth.
The Warriors’ 11-point lead felt tenuous. Austin Reaves hit one of his nine 3s to open the frame, bringing the Lakers within eight. Then Butler, still flexing that ailing forearm, made probably the biggest shot of the game — a late-clock corner 3 over a difficult LeBron James contest. When Curry checked back in with under eight minutes left, they’d bumped the lead back to 13.
In crunchtime, Green made two of the night’s biggest defensive stops, forcing James into a frantic turnover with 2:23 left and then stripping Luka Dončić on a drive with 38 seconds left, adding a signature showcase moment to his NBA Defensive Player of the Year case
But the most encouraging big-picture development for the Warriors was the return and production of Jonathan Kuminga. After missing the previous game with a sore tailbone, Kuminga was given the green light after his pregame workout and provided a level of offensive patience and was a rebounding force in his first-quarter stint.
“He played the role that we needed from him,” Kerr said.
The Warriors deployed a switch-everything scheme against the Lakers and, as Kerr said postgame, that’s an environment where a focused Kuminga can help the Warriors. He had different stints guarding Dončić, James and Reaves and switched matchups with a steady level of focus.
His defense was good,” Kerr said. “He had nine rebounds. Took care of the ball. No turnovers, four assists. It was a switching game. We switched a lot, and he was great defensively, staying in front. Just played a really solid game.”
Green said that the version of Kuminga that showed up on Thursday night “takes this team to another level.”
“He was so patient,” Green said. “He got going a little bit downhill. But I thought the biggest play he made was when he got it in the middle of the paint and kicked it out to Moses (Moody for a made 3). That just shows growth. …
“We need him to continue playing the way he played tonight. Every night is not going to look the same for him. That is just the way this league works when an offense isn’t built around you.”
Green said the Warriors have challenged Kuminga both privately and publicly to up his defensive effort and performance, especially in the absence of Gary Payton II (who is nearing a return).
Against the Lakers, Kuminga responded, temporarily quieting the incessant noise about his play, his fit and his long-term future with the Warriors as his restricted free agency nears.
“I think we need to just let this guy play basketball,” Curry said of Kuminga. “We don’t have to have a declaration after every game. We don’t have to be in a situation where we are judging every minute he’s out there.
The Warriors rushed out of the arena late Thursday night and boarded a flight back home for the first time in two weeks. They’ll turn right around for a Friday night back-to-back against the Nuggets, which are already in San Francisco waiting for them.
Kerr sounded confident that Curry, Butler and Green would all play against Denver, but Curry had another painful fall on his sore tailbone, and Butler needs to get his forearm checked out before any green light. So, it’s no guarantee.
But the stakes remain high. The Warriors are within 1 1/2 games of Denver for the third seed, but still only one game above the eighth-seeded LA Clippers as the regular season countdown clock ticks below 10 days.
