LOS ANGELES – It was anything but a repeat of the last meeting between the Warriors and Lakers inside the Staples Center as Golden State shared the ball well en route to 31 team assists, a 109-85 win over the Lakers and a tenth straight victory.
It was also the tenth straight game where the Warriors recorded more than 30 team assists, a growing franchise record.
While Durant led the way with 29 points and three other starters had double figures, the real story from this game will be the health of Draymond Green, who took a nasty fall on top of Ian Clark late in the third quarter.
Green’s knee and ankle seem to buckle underneath his weight while he tries to gain his footing after landing on Clark and he clearly needed support making his way back to the locker room where team medical staff determined he had a left ankle contusion.
Ian Clark also left with apparent head and throat injuries after Green’s knee landed on him during his fall.
It’s never a good time for one of your best players to get hurt, but the Warriors have their third game in four nights on Saturday against the young and talented Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that handed the Dubs one of their two home losses last season.
X-rays on Green’s ankle after the game came back negative but isn’t clear yet whether last year’s NBA All-Star is in the clear to play against the T’wolves.
With the win in Los Angeles the Warriors now hold the best record in the NBA at 14-2, overtaking the rival Los Angeles Clippers who lost their first road game of the season in Detroit.