SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors had nine seconds left to tie Game 1 back up. After a 14-0 run punctuated with a Steph Curry 3-pointer that erased a deep fourth quarter deficit, the Chase Center crowd had every reason to believe a victory was in reach.
The Lakers had reclaimed the lead with a D'Angelo Russell driving layup and a free throw with plenty of time for a Warriors counter. They trapped Curry up top, leaving Jordan Poole wide open on the other side of the wing.
About a half-second separated Draymond Green's swing pass and Poole's shot release from 27 feet out. The ball bounced off the side of the rim, all but securing the Warriors' 117-112 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night. And, no, Poole didn't see Lakers head coach appearing to wave his hand in front of him as he took the shot.
After his rough series against the Sacramento Kings, Poole's gutsy 3-point attempt might've made Warriors fans groan. But a Poole with space and rhythm to let those open 3s fly gives this Warriors team hope they can overcome an early 1-0 deficit and even win the series.
"It was a shot (where) he was open and flowing," Curry said. "I'm sure he felt pretty good about it. That's why he shot it. There's no regrets on that. It's just a make-or-miss type situation, and a lot of trust in him and his ability to put the ball in the basket."
Poole loved the look.
"Good look. Catch and shoot. Open. I just missed it," he said. "I'll shoot it again, too, the next time we play and I get the same shot."
A confident Poole in shooting rhythm will be key to take advantage of the Lakers' defensive limitations. Despite the brutal miss and perhaps a more costly, fruitless missed floater 30 seconds earlier over an outstretched Anthony Davis, Poole had his best game of these playoffs yet.
"I thought he was really good," Green said. "I thought early on he passed up a couple and we need him to take those, and he started taking them and it was great.
I think this will be a series that will go his way and that's great for us."
The 23-year-old scored 21 points on 7-of-15 from the field, six of those makes were from 3 on 11 attempts. A breakthrough in context of Poole's nine total made 3-pointers over the seven-game series against the Sacramento Kings. He shot 25.7 percent from 3 in that series and averaged 12 points per game in the seven-game series, ultimately leading to him playing just four minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 7.
The Kings played a more aggressive defense on the perimeter and the Warriors eventually won the series attacking their weaker rim protectors the paint. Poole struggled against that defense and couldn't find his groove getting to the rim.
The Lakers pose a different challenge with long-limbed paint inhabitant Anthony Davis. Poole's shooting will be key.
The Warriors most impactful stretches, including that 14-0 run, happened with Curry, Poole and Klay Thompson sharing the floor together with Andrew Wiggins and Green as the center. They shied from the paint and were punished to the tune of 10 Lakers blocks when they dared enter. That led to the Warriors taking 53 3s as a team and making 21 of them.
Golden State is happy to let it fly from 3, especially if Poole is feeling it. He found his scoring rhythm early when the Lakers stuck a sub-par perimeter defender Russell on him to start. Even with Dennis Shroeder guarding him at times, Poole was far more measured in his shot selection and efficient than in the previous series.
"Got the opportunity to play more out there and catch my rhythm," Poole said. "I think that'll be a big thing. Only so much you can do when you play 15 minutes.
"It's huge. Being able to catch a rhythm early and see how they're guarding us, guarding me personally."
There's hope in the Warriors locker room that Davis and LeBron James' heavy minute-load might add up in their favor, too. Davis, 29, scored a game-high 30 points with 23 rebounds but played 44 minutes and James, 38, scored 22 points in 40 minutes. Get the trio of scorers running rampant off ball, a long series with games played every-other day could be taxing for Los Angeles' starters. The Lakers came into Tuesday's game fresh with three days off to the Warriors' one.
"We had a day off, these guys had a couple days off and their starters all played 40 minutes," Poole said. "It's a long series. We got a lot of guys like me, Steph and Klay — who move so much off the ball and have good pace and we're all in good shape. We can use it as an advantage if they want to play the running game with us."
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