Lakers vs. Warriors Final Score: Anthony Davis dominates in Lakers win

On January 26, 2025By Littum

The Lakers take a 2-0 season series lead on the Golden State Warriors with a 118-108 victory on Saturday night.

Anthony Davis had 36 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, three assists and a block. LeBron James finished with 25 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. Austin Reaves chipped in with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Dalton Knecht had 13 points and Gabe Vincent seven pointing from the bench. Max Christie had 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

In his first start as a Laker, filling in for Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith finished with eight points and three rebounds.

The Lakers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, which started with a 3-pointer by Dorian. That lead was quickly erased thanks to a pair of threes by Gary Payton II and Steph Curry. LeBron went on a solo 4-0 run and at the first timeout, LA was down by two.

The defense was non-existent as both teams traded baskets back and forth for the rest of the quarter. LA regained the lead by five, but Golden State was able to claw it back until Dalton dunked the ball at the buzzer to put the Lakers up by one at the end of the first.

It was a tough close 1st Q from LA against a Warriors 2nd unit that has struggled as GSW scored 6 straight points to turn a 25-20 lead into a 1 point deficit.

Dalton Knecht managed a dunk at the buzzer to put LA up 1st.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) 26 January 2025

The Warriors struck first in the second quarter, but Dalton answered with a 3-pointer to help keep Los Angeles in the lead. Gabe joined the behind-the-arc party by knocking down a corner three. It was all tied up when two minutes passed in the quarter.

A happy sight for the Lakers was the return of Jarred Vanderbilt, who immediately grabbed a rebound and put back a missed layup.

Former Laker Dennis Schröder had 10 points and was perfect from deep with two 3-pointers. A layup by Dalton put the purple and gold back up by one, forcing a Golden State timeout.

AD was alive at the free throw line as the Warriors struggled to defend him. He shot 83% from the charity stripe.

The Lakers were up by four, but Moses Moody drained a 3-pointer to make it a one-point deficit for the Warriors at halftime.

The second half started with both teams playing well offensively. Buddy Hield made his first 3-pointer of the game and a block by AD left Austin on the backboard. LA went up by six after an 8-0 run. Gary converted on a layup to stop some of the bleeding for the Warriors.

Max Christie knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Lakers a double-digit lead. Golden State didn’t back down and tried to get closer again. Dalton knocked down a corner kick, his second three of the game.

Golden State started to make another push with their rookie Quinten Post doing a little bit of everything, scoring and making plays. It was back to a six-point lead for the Lakers until Dalton drained another 3-pointer.

Andrew Wiggins knocked down a buzzer-beating three, and the Lakers only recovered by six to end the third.

Third quarter: Lakers 89, Warriors 83

AD has 26 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron has 15 points and 9 assists. AR has 14 points. Dalton Knecht has 13 points off the bench. Max Christie has 11 points and 6 rebounds. LA has only committed 4 turnovers since being turned over 6 times in the first.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) 26 January 2025

LeBron started offensively in the final frame. LeBron was on a mission trying to take over for the team. He made another layup and Dorian joined the scoring with a 3-pointer to force the Warriors to call timeout.

The Lakers dominated and AD got a rest on the bench. When he was subbed back into the match, he was fouled and made them both.

The lead grew for the Lakers before the Warriors began to close again. A 3-pointer by Hield forced an LA timeout

Los Angeles went back up by double digits after an impressive pass by LeBron to AD for a dunk. Out of a timeout, Austin stole the ball and passed to Dorian for a dunk. Austin then lobbed LeBron for an empathetic dunk.

Golden State couldn’t come back and they waved the white flag by taking Steph out of the game.

Key takeaways:

There were several instances of sloppy play that resulted in turnovers. The Lakers need to handle the ball better.

Vando is back! He was already doing the dirty work we are used to seeing him do. As he gets his playing condition even better, he will continue to make a huge difference to this team.

The Lakers’ next game will be Monday against the Charlotte Hornets at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.