NBA Game Notes (May 8, 2023)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on May 8, 2023.

Lakers Rally, Take 3-1 Lead

The Los Angles Lakers rallied from a 12-point deficit midway through the third quarter to defeat the Golden State Warriors 104-101, taking a commanding 3-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series. The teams now head to San Francisco for Game 5 on Wednesday.

The Lakers’ LeBron James scored a team-high 27 points, although he made just 10 of his 25 shots from the field. James also snagged nine rebounds and dished out a team-high six assists. It’s the 146th time James has recorded at least 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game, double that of any other player in NBA history (Michael Jordan, 73).

The second member of the Lakers’ dynamic duo, Anthony Davis, scored 23 points on 10-16 shooting from the floor. Davis also hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds and recorded three steals. Since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74, Davis is the only Laker to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals in back-to-back playoff games.

Lakers reserve Lonnie Walker IV scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, almost singlehandedly outscoring the Warriors (17-15). He attempted all nine of his field goals in the fourth quarter, hitting six of them. Walker is the first Lakers bench player to score at least 15 points in one quarter of a playoff game since Kobe Bryant on May 8, 1997 (also in the fourth quarter).

The Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points in the loss, adding 14 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career playoff triple-double. Curry has scored at least 30 points in each of those triple-doubles, making him the sixth player in NBA history to record at least three 30-point triple-doubles in the postseason:

• 15 — LeBron James

• 8 — Oscar Robertson

• 6 — Russell Westbrook

• 3 — James Harden

• 3 — Nikola Jokic

• 3 — Stephen Curry

Curry struggled with his shot, making just 12 of his 30 attempts from the field (including just three of his 14 3-point tries). Curry recorded an effective field goal percentage of 45.0%, his lowest such figure in a 30-point playoff game.

Teammate Draymond Green tallied eight points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. It’s the 98th time Green has recorded at least five points, five rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game, breaking a tie with Jason Kidd for the fifth-most such games in NBA history:

• 219 — LeBron James

• 159 — Magic Johnson

• 118 — Larry Bird

• 106 — Scottie Pippen

• 98 — Draymond Green

After making 21 3-pointers in each of the first two games of the series, the Warriors made just 25 total 3-pointers in Games 3 and 4. Over the last two games, they shot just 76-177 from the field (42.9%) and 25-85 from 3-point range (29.4%).