A motivated Luka Doncic exploded for 21 points and the Lakers built a 23-point lead by the time Steve Kerr gathered his team on the Warriors’ bench between periods.
asserted
Kerr → explode → periods
They should have been spooked.
asserted
They → spook → ?
It was about the worst 12 minutes of basketball Golden State had played this season.
asserted
State → play → basketball
It appeared Kerr’s squad was headed for a second rout in 10 days at the hands of the Lakers.
asserted
squad → appear → Lakers
Then, everything flipped.
asserted
everything → flip → ?
Austin Reaves got to the foul line on the Lakers’ first possession of the second quarter, extending their advantage to 25 points, 40-15, and that’s as wide as it would get.
asserted
it → get → points
De’Anthony Melton scored the next seven points, and Golden State went on to come all the way back — and then some — for a convincing 112-95 win over Doncic and the Lakers.
asserted
State → score → Doncic
From the end of the first-quarter timeout on, the Warriors outscored Los Angeles 97-57.
asserted
Warriors → outscore → Angeles
“I don’t think I got too upset.
asserted
I → think → ?
I was trying to stay poised,” Kerr said.
asserted
Kerr → try → ?
“We couldn’t have played any worse, and they knew it.
asserted
they → play → it
I didn’t need to tell them.
asserted
I → need → them
I just said it’s a long game.
asserted
it → say → ?
“I don’t think I said anything about the modern NBA — I didn’t say anything to our players — but what I would [say] is 25, it’s the new 12.
asserted
it → think → what
These games happen nightly in the league.
asserted
games → happen → league
They don’t usually happen quite like this, though.
asserted
They → happen → this
In fact, the Warriors’ Jekyll-and-Hyde act produced a kind of game that had never been seen in the NBA, at least not in recent history.
asserted
that → produce → history
As poor as the opening period went for the Warriors, the second was just as bad for JJ Redick’s squad.
asserted
second → go → squad
By halftime, Golden State had erased the entire deficit to pull even at 53.
asserted
State → erase → 53
It was the first time since the NBA started tracking play-by-play (in 1996-97) that a team had trailed by 25 or more in the first half and come back to even the score at halftime.
asserted
team → start → halftime
The final 17-point margin of victory was the largest by any team that has trailed by 25 or more.
asserted
that → trail → 25
“These games are wild,” Kerr said.
asserted
Kerr → say → ?
You just have to stay with it.”
asserted
You → have → it
While Kerr kept his cool after the disastrous first quarter, the assistants in the second row of the Warriors’ bench let the players have it.
asserted
players → keep → it
They committed 10 turnovers, double their number of made baskets, and seemed to be rattled by Doncic’s furor in his rematch with Yaxel Lendeborg.
asserted
They → commit → Lendeborg
Anthony Vereen was the “lead voice” in calling out the Warriors players, Steph Curry said.
asserted
Curry → call → players
“You need that kind of fire to see how we’re gonna respond,” Curry said.
asserted
Curry → need → fire
And respond, they did.
asserted
they → respond → ?
After coughing up the ball 10 times in 12 minutes, they turned it over only six times over the remaining 36.
asserted
they → cough → 36
Only one team ended up with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, and it wasn’t the one that jumped to the early 25-point lead.
asserted
that → end → lead
The Lakers ended up turning the ball over five more times than Golden State (20-15) and assisting on 13 fewer buckets (31-18).
asserted
Lakers → end → buckets
“Everything went wrong,” Kerr said of the first quarter.
asserted
Kerr → go → quarter
It was not anything strategy related.
asserted
It → relate → ?
We didn’t change anything after the first quarter.
asserted
We → change → quarter
“Sometimes when you come back off a weeklong road trip and you have a day off, no shootaround, that first few minutes can be a little rough.
asserted
minutes → come → day
In addition to his 21 first-quarter points, Doncic looked unstoppable as a playmaker, dishing out five assists.
asserted
Doncic → look → assists
He finished with 37 points to best Curry’s 31, but he didn’t set up another Lakers bucket for the rest of the game.
asserted
he → finish → game
“Luka had an unbelievable first quarter,” Curry said.
asserted
Curry → have → quarter
“He looked very determined coming into tonight.
asserted
He → look → tonight
Our offense got stagnant.
asserted
offense → get → ?
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
