Warriors stave off elimination, beat Lakers in Game 5 to send series
back to LA
All five starters finished in double-digit scoring to help propel the
Warriors past the Lakers, forcing a Game 6 in Los Angeles.
>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) dribbles against Los Angeles
Lakers’ LeBron James (6) in the second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA
basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 10, 2023 at 9:36 p.m. | UPDATED: May 11, 2023 at 6:49 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/05/10/warriors-stave-off-elimination-beat-lakers-in-game-5-to-send-series-back-to-la/

SAN FRANCISCO — There was a sense of calm among the Warriors heading
into a do-or-die Game 5 Wednesday night.

The Warriors core has been down in a playoff series 3-1 twice before,
having experienced comeback and loss.

“We know how to respond,” coach Steve Kerr said shortly before tip-off.
“That’s the plan.”

The Warriors executed said agenda, beating the Los Angeles Lakers
121-106 to force a Game 6 in Los Angeles on Friday.

Draymond Green set the tone and Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins helped
carry them home.

Heading into a potential elimination game, the Warriors leaned on their
past experience. Wiggins said the confidence from the team’s leading
trio — Green, Curry and Klay Thompson — was contagious.

They made “everyone believe that we can do this,” Wiggins said.
“Day-by-day, game-by-game, possession-by-possession, just giving
ourselves a fighting chance.”

>Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks against Los Angeles
Lakers' Anthony Davis (3) in the second half of Game 5 of the NBA
basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

The Warriors were aggressors, with Green playing a big part in getting
the Warriors going early. He fouled Anthony Davis 20 seconds into the
game, but scored eight of the team’s first 14 points, opening the game
with a 3. He also got in the ear of several Lakers players, including
Jarred Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis.

“That’s Draymond being Draymond,” Gary Payton II said. “As long as it
don’t get crazy, we all got his back, let him talk, try to keep the refs
out of it and let him do what he does.”

Still, the Lakers stuck with them, hitting tough shots over defenders.
LeBron James drilled a 3 early in the second to give the Lakers their
first lead since the opening minute. The lead would go on to change
seven more times in the second; the game was tied six times.

The Warriors created separation over the last 4:37 of the half. Kevon
Looney poked the ball loose from Davis on the Lakers’ final possession
and delivered the ball to Stephen Curry, who dribbled down the clock
before sinking a 3-pointer.

Curry’s basket capped off a 15-6 run and gave the Warriors an 11-point
lead at the half.

>Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry #30 shoots a 3-point basket past
Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves #15 in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of
the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal playoffs at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Curry was
the high scorer with 27 points in their 121-106 win. (Jane Tyska/Bay
Area News Group)

Both teams shot above 54% from the field and 50% from deep in the first
two quarters. Those numbers tapered off in the second half, but the
Warriors’ energy didn’t.

All five Warriors starters finished in double-digit scoring, with Curry
and Wiggins leading the way with 27 and 25 points, respectively. Wiggins
also had seven rebounds and five assists.

“This was the best game Wiggs has played since he’s been back,” Kerr
said. “The way he attacked, the way he got to the rim, that adds another
dimension to our attack.”

Davis exited the game with 7:34 left after taking an inadvertent blow
from Kevon Looney. He didn’t step foot on the court again, ending the
night with 23 points and nine rebounds.

>Golden State Warriors' Kevon Looney (5) takes a shot against Los
Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis (3) in the second half of Game 5 of the
NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

As Kerr pulled his starters later in the fourth, news broke that Davis
was escorted out by wheelchair, putting his availability for the rest of
the Western Conference series in question.

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the Lakers

The Warriors staved off elimination and will have 48 hours to regroup
and recharge before Game 6. Curry said the team will take stock of what
happened in their two losses in Los Angeles and what worked in Game 5.

“The mental preparation is understanding that we’ve played well enough
down there to have won both of those games,” Curry said. “Accepting our
shortcomings there but also understanding we can make the necessary
adjustments to hopefully get off to a good start in Game 6, give
ourselves some momentum, put some pressure on them and bring the effort
and the competitiveness and the same fire we had tonight. That’s the
game plan. And again, just get lost in the game down there, because it’s
going to be a fun atmosphere.”

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>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) takes a shot against Los
Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (6) in the second half of Game 5 of the NBA
basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter
Madeline Kenney is the Bay Area News Group's Golden State Warriors beat
reporter for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. A Nebraska native, she
is graduate of Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a Bachelor in
Communication degree, with a major in broadcast journalism and minors in
sports management and marketing, and is a friend of Sister Jean, the
103-year-old nun who became famous during the Ramblers’ 2018 run to the
Final Four, Madeline previously worked for the Chicago Sun-Times
covering everything from sports to crime and politics. When she’s not
working, she enjoys trying new restaurants and exploring the great outdoors.