Lakers battle but can’t outlast the Warriors

Dec. 18, 2017 11:30 PM PT

If Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement ceremony created a buzz inside Staples Center, the Lakers kept the place electric.

The Lakers went to overtime on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors, ultimately falling 116-114 in overtime. It was the second overtime loss for the Lakers at the hands of the Warriors this season. With the loss, the Lakers fell to 10-18 while the Warriors improved to 24-6.

Bryant stayed for regulation. He had his jersey retired at halftime, then left the arena with his family between the fourth quarter and overtime.

“It was definitely different,” Lonzo Ball said of the atmosphere at the game. “From the start when we pulled up to the arena. … I’d never seen nothing like it.”

Warriors forward Kevin Durant started the game making six of 25 shots, but finished 10 for 29 on field goals. He scored the game-winner on a jumper from the top of the key. About six seconds then remained in the game and the Lakers had a chance. Ball drove to the rim but was blocked from behind by David West.

“We all knew the ball was gonna go to him,” Ball said of Durant. “We were switching everything. He got an iso, made a good shot, had a nice move and then we had 6 seconds. Tried to get down the court as fast as I could. … I saw Klay [Thompson] and then I saw an open rim. I thought if I got by him I’d be all right.”

Durant finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

“KD finished with I think 36 and I thought we did a pretty good job on him besides a couple breakdowns we had defensively,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “… He took 29 shots to get 36 points, that’s sometimes the best you can do against a player as good as he is.”

Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers with 25 points. Julius Randle contributed a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Ball scored 16 points with six assists and six rebounds. His final points came with 1:03 left in overtime when an off-balance layup gave the Lakers a 113-112 lead.

“He made a lot of plays that kept us in the game,” Walton said. “We had a lot of different guys that stepped up, but it was good to see him do it that late into the game instead of just facilitating. He did an incredible job hitting big shots, getting himself open when we needed it.”

Brandon Ingram sent the game to overtime when he scored to tie the score at 102 with 27 seconds remaining. The Lakers and Warriors each had a chance to win in regulation but neither could connect. Durant missed a three-point attempt with 8.2 seconds left in the game and Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope air-balled a three-point attempt with 1.9 seconds left in regulation.

The game was tightly contested with a few exceptions. The Warriors built a 10-point lead in the first quarter after the Lakers built an eight-point lead themselves. At halftime the Lakers trailed by four and by the end of the third quarter the Lakers trailed 83-82.

The Warriors played without all-star point guard Stephen Curry and also lacked all-star forward Draymond Green.