Despite another MVP-esque performance from Steph Curry (37 points on 52% shooting) and a strong performance from the Warriors as a whole, Golden State lost their first game of the play-in tournament to the Lakers tonight, 103-100.

The Warriors led by 13 at the half, thanks to an extremely impressive defensive performance. Draymond Green and the rest of the squad held Anthony Davis, Lebron James and Dennis Schroder to a combined 4-28 shooting in the first half. The third quarter got a little dicey, however, as the Warriors committed eight turnovers, four fouls in the first two minutes, and were outscored 35-24.

Nevertheless, Golden State was able to hang in the game and even find themselves up 98-95 with 3:08 left to play in the game. The lead quickly evaporated after the Warriors were called for a pair of fouls on back-to-back Lakers possessions. One such foul by Draymond Green on Lebron James’ facial area lead James to lay on the court for several minutes while holding his eye which would eventually lead James stating after the game about the eye situation: “After Draymond's finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there.”

Despite all of Lebron’s horrible discomfort caused by Green’s normal foul, he was able to overcome an overwhelming amount of adversity (note my sarcasm) as he “shot at the middle [rim]” and hit a three-pointer to ice the game with 58 seconds left. Golden State had a good chance to tie the game with 35 seconds left, but a Jordan Poole’s corner-3 rimmed out.

All things considered, Golden State fought admirably and played relatively well. Plus, it was fantastic to see the Dubs in action in a high-stakes postseason game again. Even Steph Curry was excited as he said after the game, “I was telling Jordan Bell over on the bench, I miss this.”

Kevon Looney was a surprise bright spot tonight, as he gathered 13 rebounds against the Lakers’ stacked frontcourt. Andrew Wiggins also stayed consistent with another 21 point outing on 10-18 shooting.

Even though Lebron hit a clutch three to win it and there were several controversial fouls called on the Dubs, the Warriors’ sloppy play in the 3rd-quarter was the nail in the coffin. Take out just a few of the forced passes and the loose ball-handling, particularly by Curry and Draymond, Lebron wouldn’t have been in a position to land a haymaker to the end of the game. The Lakers barely eked out with the win, and it was mostly due to the Warriors losing this game, not the Lakers winning it.

However, all is not lost, as Golden State will now face a motivated Memphis Grizzlies team for the second time this week on Friday night in a win-or-go-home matchup. Whoever wins the game will become the Western Conference’s 8-seed and will face the Utah Jazz next Sunday. The Warriors were 2-1 against the Jazz during the regular season.

It’s safe to say that the game on Friday night will be the most important game the Warriors have played since the 2019 Finals. Make sure to tune in!