Curry’s fourth-quarter fireworks unable to push Golden State Warriors past Los Angeles Lakers

19 fourth-quarter points from a returning Stephen Curry has proved futile as the Golden State Warriors had their five-game winning streak ended by the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

Replacing Jordan Poole in the starting lineup after 11 games missed with a left leg injury, Curry was quiet until the final period where he threatened to overrun the hosts. But after tying the game at 91, then remaining down only two with 1:45 remaining, the Warriors failed to execute down the stretch in the 113-105 loss.

Despite the returns of Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, the Golden State Warriors were unable to overcome a slow start against the Los Angeles Lakers.

After seven points from Klay Thompson gave the Warriors a 7-4 lead, the offense stumbled as the Lakers took advantage in transition and at the free-throw line. Anthony Davis powered Los Angeles to a 28-5 run as Golden State found themselves down 20 just over eight minutes in.

From there it was the Lakers turn to have their offensive struggles, battling with Davis on the bench and no major focal point. They scored five points in nearly seven minutes of gametime, allowing the Warriors to eat into the significant margin. By seven minutes into the second, the Los Angeles lead had been cut to one at 41-40.

The teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the half with the Lakers holding a 55-54 advantage at the main interval. Thompson had 15 and Jordan Poole 10, while after donuts in the first-quarter, Curry had eight quick points in the second period to announce his return.

Yet after that explosive 36-point display, the Warrior offense fell quiet again with just 18 in the third. There remained elements of beautiful ball movement but the shots simply didn’t go down as Los Angeles re-established a six-point lead heading to the fourth.

After just eight points entering the fourth, Curry exploded with 12 points and two assists in the first five minutes of the final period. Anthony Lamb’s triple with 5:37 remaining tied the game, but the Lakers made it a trend of responding when Golden State looked like they’d assert some dominance on the contest.

Down eight in the final minutes, Donte DiVincenzo expertly found Curry and then Thompson for back-to-back threes, cutting the lead to two with 1:46 left. However, the Warriors had no answer for Davis, and missed their last five field-goal attempts, with the Lakers eventually putting the game away.

Curry finished with 27 points and six assists in an encouraging display — he looked uninhibited by the leg injury and will no doubt benefit from the 32 minutes of gametime. Thompson had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Draymond Green shook off a hand injury to finish with 15 and eight rebounds.

Davis was the consistent star though across the four-quarters, finishing with 39 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Los Angeles had five less turnovers and three more offensive rebounds, proving decisive in the final result.

The Warriors finish 1-3 against the Lakers on the season, while their road woes worsen to a 7-24 record as they move to 34-31 overall. They now travel to Oklahoma City for a matchup with the Thunder on Tuesday at Paycom Center.