Draymond Green tweaked his ankle late in the second quarter, and from the moment he began that light limp up court, it made sense to pull him. The Warriors were down 27 points when he twisted it and 29 at the half. They’ve had some big comebacks this season, including a 19-point stunner on the Lakers in Staples Center, but they had more juice that January night.
This looked more like the Warriors from the opening week — fouling everything that moved, bricking open 3s, failing to deal well with physicality, outclassed and waving the white flag early in an end-to-end blowout. The final: 117-91 Lakers. The only positives to arise for the Warriors: Curry was able to rest the entire fourth quarter, and Green’s ankle sprain “wasn’t too bad,” coach Steve Kerr said.
“This was very, very surprising for me,” Kerr said.
