Darvin Ham expects the LA Lakers to bounce back in Game 3: "Our team will respond the right way"
LA Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is unhappy with what he saw from his team in their blowout loss in Game 2. However, Ham expects the Lakers to bounce back in Game 3 at home against the Golden State Warriors.
In his postgame news conference, Ham discussed his team's 127-100 defeat to the Warriors on Thursday. He didn't like how the Lakers lost focus in the second half when the Warriors started pulling away.
But despite the embarrassing loss, the first-year head coach still has plenty of belief in his team. He knows that LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the guys will be ready for Game 3.
"I fully anticipate our team will respond the right way," Ham said.
“I fully anticipate our team will respond the right way.” Darvin Ham expects the #Lakers to come out ready on Saturday’s Game 3 matchup. https://t.co/P4MOMXrBjX
LeBron James scored a team-high 23 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Anthony Davis had a very quiet Game 2 with just 11 points and seven rebounds.
Rui Hachimura came off the bench to score 21 points, but it was certainly not enough. The LA Lakers were just plain terrible in the second half, while Klay Thompson should get lot of credit for the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson exploded for 30 points, including eight three-pointers. Steph Curry became a facilitator with 12 assists, but also had 20 points and four rebounds on the night. Draymond Green almost had a triple-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
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LeBron James reacts to LA Lakers' blowout loss in Game 2
LeBron James had a good game on Thursday night, but it was not enough to prevent the Golden State Warriors to even the series at 1-1. Despite their bad performance, James still believes that the LA Lakers will be able to bounce back for Game 3 because of their defense.
He said:
"We're still the best defensive team in the league if not one of them," James said in a postgame interview. "So, that doesn't change, and that's what we hang our hats on. But like I said, you give credit where credit's due. Klay was spectacular tonight." (h/t Heavy Sports).
James also praised Draymond Green and JaMychal Green for their performances in Game 2. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr inserted JaMychal into the starting lineup to replace Kevon Looney.
JaMychal played just 13 minutes, but scored 15 points. It was a huge haul in the first half considering the game was close. Meanwhile, Draymond was great defensively against Anthony Davis. He also took control of Golden State's playmaking along with Steph Curry.
"Draymond was great in the pocket pass with the rolls and things of that nature," James said. "JaMychal gave them big-time minutes. Those 12 minutes felt like 24 minutes, 30 minutes. He was big-time for their team in a starting role tonight, too."
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