Despite Steph Curry's 37-point game, the Golden State Warriors succumbed to a 100-103 loss to the LA Lakers in the Western Conference's 7th vs 8th place play-in tournament game. LeBron James came up clutch, knocking down a 34-foot three-point attempt over Curry with 58.2 seconds left on the clock to seal the win for the Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors will now face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday to battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Steph Curry's reaction to LeBron James' game-winner
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Steph Curry was asked about LeBron's outrageous game-winning shot in the post-match conference, and the former had nothing but appreciation for the latter's efforts. Here's what Steph said:
"It's a great shot.. He was kind of out of play and they found him, he got his balance just in time and knocked it down. That was a tough one because you don't really expect it to go in, you expect us to get the rebound and come down in transition, have the possession to take the lead but everything changed when it goes in. All-time great players make great shots. That's what happens, no different tonight. That's what happens."
The Golden State Warriors put up a great fight and even led by 13 points at half-time. They had the right intensity to start the game with and could be a problem to deal with for the Memphis Grizzlies in their matchup on Friday. When asked about their preparation for that game, Warriors talisman Steph Curry seemed quite positive, saying:
"We'll be ready, you know it sucks we played pretty well tonight, missed this type of environment. It was a lot of fun. High intensity at a high competitive level...we gave ourselves a chance to win (against LA).. The guys are upset, angry, frustrated that we didn't get the job done, but, to your question, we'll be ready on Friday"
The Warriors and Grizzlies faced off on the last day of the regular season on May 16th, with the former winning the tie 113-101 to finish as the higher seed (8th). Steph Curry had 46 points in that game and will be eager to replicate the performance.
The winning team on Friday will face the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs on Sunday, while it will mark the end of the season for the losing team.
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