For the third straight game, the Los Angeles Lakers faced a matchup that carried heavy playoff implications. They went up against the Golden State Warriors, a team that started the day in fifth place in the Western Conference, while they were two games ahead of the Warriors in third place with a 46-29 record.
This was billed as an early playoff-type battle at Crypto.com Arena. But after a hot start, the Lakers were unable to consistently hit shots, as if the Warriors had banished them to the tundra. During one stretch in the first and second quarters, they missed 11 straight shot attempts, which seemed to set the tone for this contest.