Final: That does it everyone. I'm Vahan Shakhpazyan signing off. See you guys next time!
Final: Lakers - 105 Warriors - 108.
Final: The Warriors will play the Hawks next in a battle between the best in the East and the best in the West.
Final: Warriors clinch a playoff spot with the win.
4th Quarter (:00): That does it. Warriors escape with a three-point victory at home to improve their home record to 30-2.
4th Quarter (:01): Draymond Green seals the game by knocking the ball off Wesley Johnson.
4th Quarter (:03): Curry hits both free throws. Lakers ball.
4th Quarter (:03): Ellington hits both free throws, and the Lakers foul Curry again.
4th Quarter (:03): Warriors choose to foul again. Smart call by Steve Kerr again. He does not allow the Lakers to shoot a three.
4th Quarter (:04): Curry is fouled, and he will go to the line. Curry hits both his free throws as well. Byron Scott calls his final timeout.
4th Quarter (:06): Clarkson hits both free throws in the clutch. 104-103 Warriors up.
4th Quarter (:06): Green fouls Clarkson to not allow the Lakers to hoist a three.
4th Quarter (:10): Thompson missed a jumper, and Clarkson missed a layup in transition. Curry also missed a step back jumper. Lakers grabbed the miss. Timeout. Lakers - 101 Warriors - 104.
4th Quarter (:57): Clarkson hits a mid-range jumper. It's down to a three-point game.
4th Quarter (1:33): Johnson answers back with a huge jumper.
4th Quarter (1:55): Bogut gets a tip in to go off Thompson's missed three.
4th Quarter (2:07): Clarkson finds Boozer for a baby hook.
4th Quarter (2:28): Goaltending called on the Lakers, as Thompson's shot counts. GSW up 102-95.
4th Quarter (2:42): It's still 100-95, Warriors ball. Official timeout.
4th Quarter (3:30): Lakers - 95 Warriors - 100. Timeout L.A.
4th Quarter (4:03): Then off the steal, Curry gets the ball to Iguodala for a dunk.
4th Quarter (4:30): Thompson answers back with a three.
4th Quarter (4:45): Hill ties the game, as he had a mismatch in the paint against Thompson.
4th Quarter (5:17): The Warriors are over the limit.
4th Quarter (5:41): Lin feeds Boozer for a two underneath the basket.
4th Quarter (6:31): How about Livingston with the no-look pass to Iggy for a jam. Lakers call timeout. Warriors up 95-89.
4th Quarter (7:18): Davis misses a shot in the paint, but Boozer is there to tip it in.
4th Quarter (7:46): Iguodala runs into traffic but finds Green for an easy deuce.
4th Quarter (8:47): Lakers have 0 turnovers this half after committing 14 in the first half.
4th Quarter (8:57): Lakers - 84 Warriors - 89. Timeout on the floor.
4th Quarter (9:33): Kelly makes a nice move to the basket and finishes to cut the Warriors lead down to three.
4th Quarter (10:25): Thompson is back on the bench.
4th Quarter (12:00): The officials made a mistake late in the third quarter. The Lakers were out of fouls when Lin fouled Curry, but the refs said it's not a shooting foul, but it turns out the Lakers were indeed over the limit and Curry had to shoot two free throws, so the officials allowed Curry to shoot his two free throws before the start of the quarter.
3rd Quarter (:00): Lakers - 78 Warriors - 82. Curry goes off for 11 points in the third quarter, but the Lakers keeping it close.
3rd Quarter (:37): Lakers still hanging in this one with back-to-back jumpers to get back within four.
3rd Quarter (1:31): Curry completes the four-point play out of the timeout. Thompson headed to the locker room during the timeout, though, possibly to get his ankle taped after landing on the foot of Tarik Black.
3rd Quarter (1:31): Lakers - 74 Warriors - 81.
3rd Quarter (1:31): Here he goes. "Mama there goes that man." Curry hits another three and a foul!
3rd Quarter (2:09): Stephen Curry knocks down his first three of the game.
3rd Quarter (2:30): Lin to Davis to Boozer for an easy lay in.
3rd Quarter (2:54): Lin with a long jumper this time.
3rd Quarter (3:17): What a tough shot by Thompson, as he hits a fade away over Ellington. He's got 21.
3rd Quarter (4:00): Lin knocks down a three, and it's a one point game.
3rd Quarter (4:14): Curry hurt his wrist after a scoop layup as he fell to the floor. He seems to be okay.
3rd Quarter (5:21): Lakers - 67 Warriors - 67.
3rd Quarter (5:44): Curry finally gets one to go down.
3rd Quarter (5:58): Johnson ties it all up with a three.
3rd Quarter (6:21): Curry with a sweet dish to Bogut who cut in for a dunk.
3rd Quarter (7:06): Hill makes a nice move in the post to get a baby hook to drop.
3rd Quarter (7:25): Surprisingly, a slow second half so far.
3rd Quarter (9:18): Thompson ends the Warriors drought with a three.
3rd Quarter (9:51): Curry is struggling...still. Hill hits a jumper and the Lakers have regained the lead.
3rd Quarter (10:44): Clarkson hits another, this time a pretty floater.
3rd Quarter (11:39): Clarkson gets the Lakers going to start the half.
Halftime: Lakers commit 14 first half turnovers but still remain close. Warriors have eight turnovers.
Halftime: After shooting 65 percent in the first quarter, the Lakers shoot 33 percent in the second.
2nd Quarter (:00): That does it for the first half. Lakers - 54 Warriors - 58.
2nd Quarter (:39): Curry is still struggling a bit.
2nd Quarter (1:07): How about that. Green grabs a rebound and takes it coast to coast for a lefty layup.
2nd Quarter (1:32): Thompson bangs home a long two.
2nd Quarter (2:00): Bogut ends a 9-0 Lakers run with a tear drop.
2nd Quarter (2:17): Lakers - 50 Warriors - 52. Timeout.
2nd Quarter (2:28): The pace of the game has picked up, as Ellington hits a three. Just like that, it's a two-point game.
2nd Quarter (2:53): Clarkson with a terrific steal and another finish in transition.
2nd Quarter (4:26): Curry gets his first field goal of the game, taking Clarkson to the lane for a layup.
2nd Quarter (5:03): Iguodala with another beautiful feed, finding Livingston alone in the lane.
2nd Quarter (5:39): Ellington continues his hot hand, hits another jumper.
2nd Quarter (6:03): Warrior fans give a standing ovation after it was announced the team has clinched a playoff spot after the Thunder lost to the Dallas Mavericks moments ago.
2nd Quarter (6:03): Lakers - 41 Warriors - 48.
2nd Quarter (6:20): Hill with a running hook. Sweet finish.
2nd Quarter (6:40): Barnes attacks the rim and finishes with his left. What a finish!
2nd Quarter (7:29): Wesley Johnson and Harrison Barnes exchange threes.
2nd Quarter (8:02): Iguodala gets a reverse layup to go. Warriors second unit playing with a ton of energy.
2nd Quarter (8:25): Lakers - 33 Warriors - 39.
2nd Quarter (8:25): Jabari Brown on the attack, gets a the Lakers their first field goal of the quarter and a foul.
2nd Quarter (9:04): Lakers yet to score a field goal in this quarter, while the Warriors are trying to create separation.
2nd Quarter (9:48): Ezeli dunks home an Iguodala miss. First field goal of the quarter between either team.
2nd Quarter (10:00): Slow second quarter.
2nd Quarter (11:04): Another turnover...
2nd Quarter (11:22): So many turnovers by the Lakers. They have 10.
1st Quarter (:00): That does it for an entertaining first quarter. It was a great offensive quarter. Lakers are shooting 65 percent, the Warriors nearly 46 percent.
1st Quarter (:24): Jabari Brown gets a transition dunk after Thompson missed a corner three.
1st Quarter (:58): Iguodala finds Ezeli for a two handed dunk.
1st Quarter (1:41): Jeremy Lin with a beautiful pull back jumper.
1st Quarter (2:30): Lakers - 26 Warriors - 26. Timeout.
1st Quarter (2:41): By the way, Green has four steals already.
1st Quarter (3:01): Thompson with another one, this time a leaner going to his left.
1st Quarter (3:23): Thompson drains a three to tie the game at 24.
1st Quarter (3:50): Draymond Green is rolling though. He's already in double figures. This is an offensive clinic so far.
1st Quarter (3:58): Wow, Jeremy Lin with an emphatic chase down block on Green!
1st Quarter (4:25): Thompson hits a runner off a Curry assist.
1st Quarter (5:02): Lakers - 22 Warriors - 17.
1st Quarter (5:19): Fancy passing by the Lakers, and Ellington gets a corner three. He's got 10 early points. The Lakers are 4 for 4 from three.
1st Quarter (6:39): Another Lakers turnover, and Curry takes it on a 2 on 1 to find Green for an easy layup and a foul.
1st Quarter (7:01): Ellington drills a tough two-pointer. Lakers are 7 of 9 from the field.
1st Quarter (7:49): The Warriors force a turnover, and Barnes gets a fast break dunk.
1st Quarter (8:16): Wow Jordan Hill hits a three. He's been taking more of those lately.
1st Quarter (8:48): Warriors very sloppy early, another turnover and another transition layup for L.A.
1st Quarter (9:40): Ellington bangs home a three to tie the game. Then off the steal Clarkson nails a three in semi-transition.
1st Quarter (10:20): Clarkson gets the Lakers going with a steal and finish at the rim.
1st Quarter (10:54): Green comes away with a steal and takes it coast to coast for the finish.
1st Quarter (11:11): Thompson gets it going with a fall away jumper and a foul.
1st Quarter (12:00): Here we go!
The Warriors have defeated the Lakers by an average of 19.8 points in the last four games in the Oracle Arena.
Starting Lineups:
Warriors - Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut
Lakers - Jordan Clarkson, Wayne Ellington, Wesley Johnson, Jordan Hill, Tarik Black
About 15 minutes to game time.
Injury Report:
LAL – Nick Young (knee) will not play.
LAL – Ronnie Price (elbow) out for season.
LAL – Kobe Bryant (shoulder) out for season.
LAL – Steve Nash (back) out for season.
LAL – Julius Randle (leg) out for season.
GSW – Ognjen Kuzmic (shoulder) will not play.
This game could pose as a trap game for the Warriors who will play the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday in a battle between the two powerhouses of each conference. Usually teams get anxious and look ahead to their next matchup, while relaxing against the inferior team they have to play at the moment. However, the Warriors have been nearly flawless against under .500 teams, constantly taking care of business against non-playoff teams.
The Warriors own a four-game winning streak at the Oracle Arena against the Lakers. They have also won the last five out of seven meetings against Los Angeles. In addition, Golden State has the best home record in the NBA at 29-2, making it that much harder for the Lakers to pull off another upset.
Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 44 points in that game, but it was not enough to overcome the deadly three-point shooting of the Warriors who hit 50 percent of their threes on 14 of 28 shooting. Jordan Hill was also a factor with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The second meeting came on November 16 in Los Angeles which resulted into another Golden State blowout victory. Curry paved the way for the Warriors in that game with 30 points and 15 assists. Thompson added 18 points, while Andrew Bogut had arguably the best game of his career with a double double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The two games that the Warriors beat the Lakers early in the season came at an average of 22 points. The first meeting was played in Oakland on November 1 when the Warriors dominated the Lakers, 127-104, behind Klay Thompson's 41 points and Curry's 31 points and 10 assists.
The Los Angeles Lakers' last game came last night against the East-leading Atlanta Hawks at the STAPLES Center. The Hawks rested three starters and lost Kyle Korver to a broken nose during the game but still ousted the Lakers, 91-86, led by Dennis Schroder's career-high 24 points to go with 10 assists. The Lakers had an awful offensive game, committing 22 turnovers which was the second most of the season. Carlos Boozer and Ryan Kelly led the Lakers in scoring with 13 apeice. Rookie Jordan Clarkson put in 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and those were the only three players in double figures for L.A.
Golden State is pretty much at full strength at this time and is looking to clinch a playoff berth with a win. In their last game, played on Saturday, on Stephen Curry's 27th birthday, the Warriors cruised to victory against the worst team in the East, the New York Knicks. Curry notched 25 points, 11 assists, and three steals on 6 of 10 shooting from three-point range. Klay Thompson was the scoring leader, though, with 27 points on 6 of 10 shooting from three-point distance as well.
That December 23 meeting was probably the worst outing of the season by the Warriors, as Stephen Curry was the only one who played well, scoring 22 points, dishing out six assists, and coming away with three steals on 10 of 14 shooting. Andrew Bogut was out with an injury at the time, while Festus Ezeli went down with an ankle injury 14 minutes into the game, leaving the Warriors shorthanded.
It was an all-out effort by the Lakers in that game, as they had seven players score in double-figures, led by Carlos Boozer who had 18 points and nine rebounds. Ronnie Price followed suit with 17 points and eight assists, while Nick Young put in 15 points and five rebounds off the pine. Ed Davis had a magnificent game, scoring 14 points on 7 of 7 shooting. Wesley Johnson also scored 14, and Jeremy Lin added 11 points, five assists, and three steals.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the two teams with the Warriors beating the Lakers two out of the first three meetings. The most recent meeting was held on December 23 at the STAPLES Center when the Lakers surprisingly took down the Warriors without Kobe Bryant, who was resting, in a blowout fashion.
Hello, everybody. I'm Vahan Shakhpazyan, your host for tonight's VAVEL USA Live of the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.