On Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers regained control of their Western Conference semifinal series with a major 127-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
In the second quarter, L.A. trailed by 11, but turned the game around thanks to a revitalized defense and a willingness to attack the basket and get out in transition.
On social media, many Warriors fans have blamed the referees for their team’s loss. The Lakers had a 37-17 advantage in free-throw attempts, which was a repeat of Game 1 when they took 23 more foul shots than Golden State.
But Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said the officiating had nothing to do with the outcome of the contest (h/t The Cold Wire).
“We didn’t lose the game because of the officials so there’s no point in whining about anything. There were definitely calls we didn’t like but every game every coach can say that. This is not about anything other than our performance.”
Steve Kerr keeping it 💯 on officiating. pic.twitter.com/PvT7WRGbjl
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 7, 2023
The Warriors took 91 field-goal attempts in Game 3, 44 of which came from 3-point range. They converted only 29.5% of those 3-point attempts and 39.6% of their overall shot attempts.
A team that takes about half of its shots from downtown simply cannot expect to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line often.
On the other hand, 31 of the Lakers’ 80 field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc, which is a healthier ratio.
Magic Johnson on why the Lakers had such a big advantage from the free throw line
Lakers legend and former executive Magic Johnson had a simple explanation for why his team enjoyed a parade to the free throw line in Saturday’s game (h/t Fadeaway World).
The @Lakers team defense kept the Warriors off the 3-point line in tonight’s 127-97 Game 3 win! In Game 2 the starters only went to the free throw line twice. Every starter got to the free throw line tonight because the @Lakers attacked the basket and didn’t settle for the…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 7, 2023
When Los Angeles fell behind early, it was settling for jump shots, but it started to put pressure on the rim offensively during its second-quarter run.
When it did elect to shoot from the outside, it was very accurate, as it made a sizzling 48.4 percent of its attempts from 3-point land. But its main approach, as has been the case going back to its championship season in 2020, was to get into the paint.
