LeBron James went to great lengths to guard Steph Curry during the Los Angeles Lakers 117-112 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Curry, 35, came into Tuesday's game on the back of a playoff career-high 50-point performance in Game 7 of the Warriors' first-round series against the Sacramento Kings two days earlier. The guard was uncharacteristically quiet early on versus the Lakers at Chase Center before breaking out in the fourth quarter as the hosts rallied.
That inactivity was partly due to the job Jarred Vanderbilt was doing on the defensive end. The Lakers' effort to guard Curry was most evident during an odd moment with 7:23 remaining in the second quarter.
With the scores tied at 41-41, Jordan Poole replaced Curry. After the changing of the guard, James turned and followed the Warriors' point guard as they made their way to the Warriors' bench.
The Lakers forward followed him the length of the court, talking to him as they trudged towards the home bench. Curry did not engage James, shaking his head at times while chewing his mouthguard during the incident.
Dapping up several teammates on the way down the bench, upon reaching the end, Curry turned around and relocated to an empty spot to sit. By this point, James had finally finished picking up the point guard full court, returning to the game on defence as the action continued.
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When asked at the post-game press conferences about the incident, Curry explained: "He was just joking around about having to guard me until I got all the way to the bench," he said. James was not asked about the incident.
In the game itself, James put up 22 points and added 11 rebounds in 40 minutes. It was Anthony Davis, though, who led the Lakers with a historic performance. The LA center had a game-highs in points (30) and rebounds (22 - tied with Warriors center Kevon Looney).
In doing so, Davis joins Lakers legends Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor in recording a 30-20 game in the playoffs. And the team needed every one of them.
Behind Davis, the Lakers were able to steal home-court advantage in the series and have the chance to go 2-0 up when they return to Chase Center on Thursday night. Alongside Davis and James, key contributions came from the team's role players.
Lead guard D'Angelo Russell had 19 points and six assists against his former employers. Dennis Schroder also added 19 points off of the bench in 31 minutes.
Austin Reaves, the hero of their Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the last round, also put up ten points and played 39 minutes. Unlike in that series, when they lost Game 2 in Memphis, the Lakers will be hoping to keep hold of home-court in Game 2.
