{"id":594383,"date":"2026-04-10T08:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/594383\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T08:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:23:10","slug":"lebron-james-powers-shorthanded-lakers-to-win-over-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/594383\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James powers shorthanded Lakers to win over Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SAN FRANCISCO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Fans from New Zealand and Australia held signs toward the camera proclaiming they had traveled thousands of miles to watch Warriors star Stephen Curry<\/a> play.<\/p>\n

On one sign, \u201cplay\u201d was crossed out and replaced with a frowning face.<\/p>\n

LeBron James<\/a> instead gave fans a glimpse at a generational star, leading the Lakers<\/a> to a 119-103 win<\/a> over the Warriors on Thursday with 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.<\/p>\n

After missing the Lakers\u2019 last game, the 21-time All-NBA player returned as the guiding force amid a season threatening to fall off the rails. The Lakers (51-29) ended a three-game losing streak and kept pace with the Houston Rockets in a tight race<\/a> for home-court advantage in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just had a sour taste in our mouths, obviously, for last week,\u201d James said, referencing injuries to stars Luka Doncic<\/a> and Austin Reaves<\/a> and the recent skid. \u201c… And just none of us wants to continue to lose, and then we hurt for our two main guns. So, just a mindset of just trying to figure out how we can be great as a team, how we can figure out how to play well on the road and try to get a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying to avoid their longest losing streak of the season, the Lakers relied on James to steady the ship. After the Lakers gave up a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, he hit a contested three out of a timeout to get them back on track. He fed the ball to Deandre Ayton<\/a>, keeping the big man engaged for 21 points on nine-of-11 shooting with five rebounds.<\/p>\n

Luke Kennard had 14 points and eight assists. The sharp-shooting guard has 28 assists in the last three games, adapting into the team\u2019s emergency point guard to compensate for the loss of Doncic and Reaves.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking as a group this morning like this is what we have right now, and we gotta figure it out,\u201d Kennard said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to win games. Worked this hard to get where we are, to be in the position that we\u2019re in right now, and we don\u2019t want to just throw it away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers star LeBron James shoots during a win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.<\/p>\n

(David M. Barreda \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Losing James to a lingering left foot injury before Tuesday\u2019s loss to the Thunder<\/a> added to an emotional week for the Lakers. They lost Doncic and Reaves<\/a> in a blowout loss in Oklahoma City on April 2<\/a> and had to face the NBA\u2019s best team without their Big 3. Jaxson Hayes also didn\u2019t play Tuesday and remains day-to-day after missing Thursday\u2019s game as well.<\/p>\n

Lakers coach JJ Redick<\/a> admitted the Lakers were not prepared to compete Tuesday. He later recognized that an effort to inject some energy into his players by calling early timeouts and subbing out veterans such as Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt didn\u2019t help, especially after a heated exchange with Vanderbilt was caught on camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I told the team today \u2014 I think this is important \u2014 is we have had a very disjointed season because of all the injuries and throughout the year, we \u2014 collectively, staff, players \u2014 we\u2019ve had to figure out the best path forward with whatever group is available,\u201d Redick said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s no different right now. We have to figure out over these next three games and over next week, the best path for this team to play winning basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the emotional ups-and-downs, Redick checks in with Reaves and Doncic daily. Doncic, receiving treatment on his injured left hamstring in Spain, is in \u201crelatively \u2014 relatively good spirits,\u201d Redick said. Doncic is \u201cattacking\u201d his rehab, Redick said, but being away from the team has taken a toll on his psyche. Reaves, who is out with a Grade 2 left oblique strain that is expected to take four to six weeks to heal, has benefited from staying with the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for both of those guys, there is, like, a carrot,\u201d Redick said. \u201cIf we can get this season extended, they can come back and they can play. Those guys love playing basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston won its eighth straight game Thursday to stay tied with the Lakers for the No. 4 seed. Both teams have two games remaining, and the Lakers have the head-to-head tiebreaker.<\/p>\n

The difference between finishing fourth and fifth is home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but James wouldn\u2019t entertain any talk about planning for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the future holds, we have no idea,\u201d James said, \u201cand obviously the past is the past. So what we can focus on is how we continue to get better and better each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers guard Bronny James looks to pass under pressure from Golden State\u2019s LJ Cryer, left, and Charles Bassey during the second quarter Thursday.<\/p>\n

(David M. Barreda \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

James gave his teammates a scare in the third quarter when he hurt his right hand on a chase-down block. It appeared swollen as he went to the bench. Kennard also walked away from the play holding his left hand after attempting to slap the ball away from the Warriors\u2019 Pat Spencer. Redick joked that the scene made him turn off his Amazon Prime broadcast microphone for several seconds.<\/p>\n

But James returned with three minutes left in the third quarter. He wouldn\u2019t give his team yet another reason to worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis leadership all day long, in the meeting, in the walkthrough this morning, just the way he carried himself,\u201d Redick said, \u201cjust he really set the tone for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Battling a chronic knee injury in the latter stages of the season, Curry watched from the bench. His absence in the Warriors\u2019 last home game of the season also put a damper on what could have been another enthralling matchup of two of the NBA\u2019s biggest stars.<\/p>\n

Between the artistry of Curry and the physicality of James, they\u2019ve been faces of the league, Redick said. But with the 41-year-old James not under contract after this season, the generational stars may never compete against each other on an NBA court again.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Redick called the idea \u201cdark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fun to watch as a fan,\u201d Redick said of the rivalry between Curry and James, \u201cand it\u2019s been fun to be a part of it the last couple years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curry greeted James before the game. Now a sneaker free agent after his high-profile departure from longtime sponsor Under Armour, Curry honored his contemporary with a blue and yellow version of the LeBron X iD sneakers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Fans from New Zealand and Australia held signs toward the camera proclaiming they had traveled thousands of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[45842,49,48,225855,1112,225857,20352,5407,225856,12887,459,114202,95939,6903,82,2341,3618,9500,55039],"class_list":{"0":"post-594383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-austin-reaves","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-curry","12":"tag-game","13":"tag-important-win","14":"tag-james","15":"tag-lakers","16":"tag-lebron-james-power","17":"tag-luka-doncic","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-rebound","20":"tag-redick","21":"tag-season","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-team","24":"tag-thunder","25":"tag-thursday","26":"tag-warrior"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}