SAN FRANCISCO – Far too often this season, the Warriors have given in to their most stubborn demons. They now realize that the only way they have a real chance of reaching their regular season goal is to beat them.
Those demons began to stir toward the end of the third quarter Thursday night. When the Lakers needed less than three minutes to cut a 17-point deficit to nine, it sent a wave of post-traumatic angst through the sellout crowd (18,064) at Chase Center.
After watching the Warriors build leads and then flop them – the last time that happened eight days ago at Chase – they feared the worst.
Not this time. The warriors slammed the door on the beast. Tough enough and loud enough to secure a 128-110 win to move within half a game of Los Angeles in the Western Conference standings and also tie the season series at 1-1 with two more games in LA will be held.
Golden State's goal, as coach Steve Kerr explained this week, is to place its roster in the top six in the West. To avoid the play-in tournament. They are now in 10th place, largely because terrible placings have cost them so many wins.
“He gave a great speech yesterday about all of this,” Stephen Curry said of Kerr. “My approach is to aim for six because that guarantees you a place in a series. And that's what you want.
“But the way our season has gone, conceding a big goal and then having it canceled out, this is probably the ultimate test: 'Stay where you are, win every game that's in front of you, build that joy and this energy.' momentum.”
Curry and his teammates want to keep their focus narrow because they've seen what can happen when they outdo themselves, especially after building double-digit leads. Being sloppy on defense, neglecting the fundamentals, abandoning the offensive spirit that led to success is all it takes to see a lead disappear in the final five minutes and a game slip into the “struggle” category.
With five minutes left that night, the Warriors had a 15-point lead – not enough to win in six games this season. With four minutes left, Kerr emptied the bench.
Because when the Lakers threatened, the Warriors responded with all their might. They took an 11-point lead (67-56) at halftime, increased the lead to 17 (86-69) with 4:47 left in the third quarter and watched LA pull ahead with 2:02 left shortened to nine points (89-80) – and then hit the Jets.
Golden State took defense seriously and ended the quarter with a 9-2 run in which the Lakers only got two free throws.
Andrew Wiggins took a 98-82 lead after three quarters and made it his mission to banish any thoughts of an LA comeback. After opening the fourth quarter with Golden State's first nine points, the Lakers never got closer than 13 before being wiped out.
Seeing Wiggins take control was no less encouraging than the kind of finish that all too often eluded the Warriors.
“He just looks more comfortable,” Kerr said. “He attacks the rim more. And the way we play and the formation he starts the game with gives him more space to attack. He's been looking really good for a while now.
“The way our team has developed and the lineups we play against kind of affects everything he does well. “He plays at a high level, plays unselfishly and makes the game easy. I love how Wiggs is playing right now.”
Wiggins, who finished with 20 points (on 8 of 14 shooting from the field), was among five Warriors to score in double figures, led by Curry, who tried to set the tone by scoring 16 of his game-high 32 points in 10 minutes first quarter.
The win gave the Warriors (28-26) two games above .500 for the first time since Nov. 11. Considering where they are and how far they want to go, it didn't matter that they beat a Lakers team without superstar LeBron James and key rotation players Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood.
What matters is that the Warriors did it. That they bared their fangs late in the game, something often unseen this season, winning nine of their last 11 games and giving themselves reason to believe they can advance beyond the play-in tournament.
“This is a good window we had,” Curry said. “But literally every game is important for us to win. I think I just try to enjoy what happens in each game, what it takes to win that particular game. It’s a lofty goal, but we know we can achieve it.”
Maybe they can, but only if they can stop their demons from ruining everything in the last 28 games.
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