Russell Scores 23 in Preseason Loss to Lakers

The Warriors are one game closer to the regular season following their 126-93 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Stephen Curry sat out the game to rest, and a number of other Dubs missed the game due to injury or illness. As a result, the Warriors were overmatched physically from the opening tip. After Marquese Chriss threw down a monster jam on the game’s first possession off of a pick-and-roll with D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers took control of the game with 11 unanswered points and later added another 9-0 run in the first period.

Despite the outcome, it wasn’t all bad for the Dubs. Russell got it going for the Dubs in the third quarter, knocking down three straight 3-pointers. Russell finished with a game-high 23 points, 11 of them coming in the third period.

Rookie Jordan Poole struggled with his shot but still managed to score 14 points thanks to going 8-for-8 on free throws, Draymond Green added 10 points and Chriss tallied eight points, including a 3-pointer, in his quest to make the squad.

The Warriors shot 36.5 percent from the floor and were out-rebounded 46-34, while the Lakers were shooting over 60 percent from the floor for the bulk of the game – they finished at 59.8 percent and 15-for-30 on 3-pointers. LeBron James led the way with 18 points and 11 assists for the Lakers, and former Warrior Quinn Cook had 16 points, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, in his first action of the preseason.

The Warriors have now squared off with the Lakers three times this preseason, all of which have resulted in defeat. But the Dubs will look to reverse that course when they wrap up the exhibition schedule on Friday at Chase Center with yet another matchup with the Lakers.