The Lakers’ Jemerrio Jones defends the Warriors’ Stephen Curry.| AP photo
LOS ANGELES — DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors rolled past the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 on Thursday night (Friday morning, Philippine time) in pursuit of the No. 1 seed in the West.
With four regular-season games remaining, the Warriors own the best record in the West (54-24) and have a two-game lead over idle second-place Denver. The defending NBA champions also hold the tiebreaker over the Nuggets in the race for the top seed.
Kevin Durant added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Stephen Curry finished a quiet night with seven points on 3-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds. Curry and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson were a combined 4 of 16 from 3-point range.
Johnathan Williams led the Lakers with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds off the bench. JaVale McGee had 13 boards to help the Lakers outrebound Golden State 62-51.
The Warriors set the tone in the first quarter when they shot 64% from the floor and led by 27 points. They made 7 of 12 3-pointers.
The Lakers missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts in the first. Their 12 points were a season low for any quarter.
Los Angeles outscored Golden State 30-21 in the second when its shooting improved to 32% from the field, but still trailed 60-42 at halftime.
Quinn Cook had 12 of his 18 points in the second for the Warriors, who won their third in a row and fifth in six games.
Draymond Green, Thompson, Durant, Cousins and Curry dominated the third, outscoring the Lakers by 10 points to take a 94-66 lead into the fourth. Damion Lee’s 3-pointer gave Golden State its largest lead of 34 points.
The fourth quarter was nothing more than a nationally televised audition among the Lakers’ bench for future jobs with team owner Jeanie Buss leaving early. The Warriors also let their reserves finish it off. /bmjo
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