RECAP: Los Angeles Lakers 124, Golden State Warriors 121 - To Larry Ellison: value justified?

This rook has more skills than half the Assocation.

Lakers vs Warriors boxscore | Lakers blog- SIlver Screen and Roll

Warriors Game Day Links | Preview/ GameThread- Kobe or MJ? Depends on your age (1450+ comments)

Oh, what a night!

Tonight -- and thanks in large part to Twitter -- I made the following revelations...

• Hey, Larry Ellison, you know what? Maybe the Warriors are worth whatever Chris Cohan's price tag is ($315M on $110M in revenues and profitability of $12M?).
• Based on the past few games, maybe the Warriors just need to go balls out in the Draft with bigs? There should be a plethora of quality bigs available this summer.
• Are there really that many Laker fans in the Bay Area?
• Rickey Henderson looks old.
• Tony.psd needs to do a Chewbacca-like cartoon rendition of Pau Gasol.
• Monta Ellis blowing by Kobe proves that he has one of the most, if not the most, explosive right-handed attacks in the league. That being said, I don't know how you can trade him.

For this recap I'm gonna go bleeding edge on ya. See, ever since the opening night experiment I've been feeling my way through Twitter. And over the past few months, it dawned on me. It's hard to explain, so I'll let Nate Jones of AOL Fanhouse sum it up (I found this article after-the-fact)...

Twitter has quickly become the NBA's version of Cheers. You know, the place where everyone knows your name and they're always glad you came. No, Twitter isn't some fictional sports bar in Boston, but it is a virtual sports bar where NBA fans, players, team personnel, player agents and NBA writers all congregate to talk about the sport. The NBA recently released a tool called a "game companion" which you keep open while you're watching the game. However, everyone in the know understands that the real game companion is located at twitter.com.

Because I write about the NBA and work with NBA players on social media I try to follow every single person with some sort of connection to the NBA. Following all of these people has made the experience of watching an NBA game that much more fun. I get the communal sports bar experience without having to go around a bunch of drunks that don't really know what they are talking about...It's created a virtual sports bar where people that actually watch and understand the game come to talk about that night's happenings. When I'm watching a game I always have Twitter open. The stream of information that pours out on game nights from these NBA junkies makes the game experience that much better.

Using my @nbalivetweet account, which I use to follow a very pared-down subset of GSoM's twitter account, @unstoppablebaby, for tonight's game, I've taken the tweets of the better Twitterers out there, two that follow the Warriors and two that follow the Lakers...

• @gswscribe, Marcus Thompson, beat-writer for the Contra Costa Times,
• @GeoffLepper, Geoff Lepper, who covers the Warriors on NBA.com,
• @KevinDing, Kevin Ding, beat-writer for the Orange County Register, and
• @LakersReporter, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com

Incidentally, most of these beat-writers get courtside seats and are within earshot of the team benches. They generally do a good job of sharing their access via Twitter.

Before I begin, has there ever been a recap written like this? If not, remember where you saw this first!

Here are the quarter-by-quarter tweets, which is essentially the recap...

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS: There's that many Laker fans at Oracle? Anthony Tolliver for three!

LakersReporter Hello from Oracle Arena in Oakland, folks ... Warriors still come out to 50 Cent's "Get Up," which we like.
KevinDing Game nearing tip-off and Brian Shaw (Oakland native) is still waving to tons of people in crowd. Friend of everyone in Oak and entire NBA.
geofflepper #GSW start Chris Hunter and Anthony Tolliver in an attempt to deal with Lakers' imposing frontline.
LakersReporter An impressive amount of Lakers fans yet again in Oakland, though the Warrior fans remain easily among the league's best.
geofflepper Hunter gets completely free on S/R with Ellis, dunks. Bynum and Kobe look around at Pau and Fish, wondering where was weakside help. #GSW
LakersReporter Lots of offense early, Golden State holding a 11-8 lead on 4-of-6 shooting despite 2 straight Gasol - sans braces - buckets.
gswscribe I wonder if being defended by someone undersized and really quick makes Kobe a tad uncomfortable
gswscribe No exaggeration. Lakers fans cheering louder than Warriors fans at Oracle Arena tonight
gswscribe Curry and Ellis 0-for-5 combined, but all good looks and good strokes
geofflepper Anthony Tolliver's 3-point shooting, which started so slowly (missed 26 of his first 31 as a #GSW) is coming around. He's 2-2 so far tonight
KevinDing Maggette just lost the handle trying to make a move. Kobe knows how that feels. We've underreported how index finger affects Kobe's handle.
gswscribe Chris Hunter is good against really big centers. He's just big enough that he is physically an obstacle
LakersReporter L.A. started the game 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line, but 3 TO's & 2 G.S. 3's have the game tied at 16.
LakersReporter Since the 6-of-6 start, L.A. has missed 6 straight. In unrelated news, Bynum has completely shaved his head, if you didn't notice.
gswscribe 16 all, 5:23 left in first. Both teams 6-for-12 FGs. Kobe 5 pts and 2 ast. Ellis 0-for-3 but has 4 of 6 Warriors asts.
KevinDing While Phil goes over clipboard in timeout for starters, DJ is advising Sasha on how much he should mess up his hair. Seriously.
LakersReporter We know that G.S. has a slew of D-Leagers playing due to a plethora of injuries ... 1 of 'em, A. Tolliver, is 3-of-3 from 3 so far.
gswscribe Anthony Tolliver is 3-for-3 from 3. He entered tonight at 33.3 percent
geofflepper #GSW shooting 60 percent, have committed only 1 TO and still can do no better than a tie game at 23-all with LAL. Lakers are just scary good
KevinDing Pau earlier looked at coaches and gave shrug/palms up after Tolliver 3. RT @The_GodfatherX: @KevinDing Who the F is Anthony Tolliver?
LakersReporter It's been a fun game for those that enjoy offense, L.A. going up 30-23 thanks to back-to-back 3's from Artest that Kobe loved.
gswscribe Kobe just took over at Ellis' expense. Went right at Ellis 3 straight, twice kicking it out for an easy J. Plus he stripped Ellis once
geofflepper Kobe drives from R wing, blows past Hunter, leaves Ellis sprawled on floor, fires across to Artest for the open 3. LAL 30, #GSW 23.
KevinDing Early in this timeout, Sasha is acting like DJ's chest and now his face is a speed bag to punch.
KevinDing Anthony Morrow in for Warriors. He has made 13 of his past 19 3-pointers. Let's see if Lakers identify him.
LakersReporter Just nailed one. RT @KevinDing: A. Morrow in for Warriors. He has made 13 of his past 19 3-pointers. Let's see if Lakers identify him.
KevinDing Sure enough ... Lakers D fails to rotate second time. Morrow moves to 14 of 20.
gswscribe Lakers made first six shots, missed next six shots, then made next six shots ... make that next seven
gswscribe Warriors frontcourt: 11-for-11. Warriors backcourt 1-for-9
KevinDing Really concerted effort at running triangle so far (and GSt D makes it easy). LAL will finish Q1 with 13 assists on 14 FGs.
nbalivetweet Pau Gasol has definitely mastered the yell-as-if-i-got-fouled technique.
LakersReporter A solid 1st quarter for Gasol ... other than at the free throw line. He has 9 pts on 4-of-5 FG's w/3 reb, but 1-of-4 FTs.
LakersReporter Both Bryant & Artest had 4 assists in the 1st Q that L.A. finished up 39-32, 4 guys w/at least 8 pts & Odom w/5 off bench.
geofflepper END 1Q: LAL 39, #GSW 32. Strange days: W's frontcourt (Maggette, Tolliver, Hunter) 10-10 FG. Ellis/Curry 1-10. Gasol/Bynum 17 combined PTS.
LakersReporter Gasol actually went 1-of-5 in Phoenix last game from the stripe, making him 2-of-9 in last 2 ... but he's still near 80% on season.
gswscribe End of 1st: Lakers 38, Warriors 32. Kobe 9 points, 4 ast. Artest 8 points, 4 ast. Hunter/Maggette 8 each

SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS: CJ Watson looks like an all-star, makes Derek Fisher fall like a domino

nbalivetweet Phil Jackson at ESPN betw qtr interview: "We have to move the ball around perimeter and get to our big guys, Warriors have good help."
KevinDing Sasha at least got a pat on butt from Phil after being benched 32 seconds in.
gswscribe Monta (0-7 FGs) is getting good looks, but my HS coach would tell him to get a lay-up or FTs to get going. Don't just keep shooting Js
LakersReporter Offense continues to come easily for L.A., already to 42 points w/8:42 left in the 2nd, but they've conceded 39 to G.S.
KevinDing Remember how Artest's conditioning was sub-par after his Xmas concussion? He just played the 1st 15 minutes without a breather.
nbalivetweet Wow, Monta Ellis just took Kobe from top L, RH one-handed show ball, scoop.
LakersReporter A very active Lamar Odom it's been tonight. He has 9 points with 5 boards and an assist in 10 minutes.
geofflepper Assuming it's a sellout (almost a certainty), it will be just the fourth out of 34 #GSW home games: HOU (opening night), LAL (twice), CLE
nbalivetweet Mark Jackson on ESPN: "Great crowd, they've been appreciative of the franchise." Um no, Mark. Appreciate the TEAM, despise the FRANCHISE.
LakersReporter With knowledge of the smallish Warriors front line, Odom's camping out on the baseline for easy off. rebounds. It's working.
nbalivetweet So Monta just took it down the lane RH again. Explosive. Most explosive RH in the NBA?
gswscribe He took one rushed FG. Rest open pull-ups & drives @espnaranas good looks? you kidding me? I guess we know who u want this team built around
nbalivetweet Don Nelson doing some good instructional coaching to Steph Curry and Anthony Morrow.
LakersReporter Lakers are getting good balance on offense: 8 shots from Kobe, 6 from Pau, 5 from Artest, 4 from 'Drew, 4 from Odom.
nbalivetweet CJ Watson nice shake n bake, foul on floor, he makes layup hi off backboard, waved off. Not waved off if it were Kobe?
KevinDing Fish just wiped out trying to hang with CJ Watson on drive. Maybe he'll switch back to Kobe's shoes again.
nbalivetweet CJ Watson breaking ankles! Down goes Derek Fisher like a domino.
gswscribe Every time C.J. Watson comes into games, you know he's in the game.
nbalivetweet CJ Watson jumper R elbow, playing like an allstar, 3:00 to, Lakers 57, Warriors 56. Then attacks once more and goes to line for 2 FTs.
gswscribe Lakers 57, Warriors 56, 2:56 left in second. Monta Ellis 8 assists in 21 minutes despite 2-for-11 FGs.
nbalivetweet I dunno, things are going too well. I feel like a 3rd- or 4th-qtr collapse is imminent. Can the Warriors keep this up?
KevinDing Kobe goes over to Warriors bench to chit-chat with Ronny, who is sitting next to Radmanovic and Raja Bell.
LakersReporter L.A.'s coaches weren't interested in playing Golden State's up-and-down style, but we've seen it so far. Better D in 3rd Q?
LakersReporter Lakers doing exactly what Jackson warned against: turning the ball over leading to G.S. run outs. 10 TO's already, G.S. up 59-57.
geofflepper C.J. Watson steals an ill-advised X-court pass from Bynum, goes C2C to give #GSW the lead back at 59-57. Then LAL gets hit w/3 sec call.
nbalivetweet I'm gonna go out om a limb and say it. The Warriors ARE worth the price Cohan is asking. Bec of these fans. He still sucks at winning tho.
nbalivetweet CJ Watson greatly adding to his eventual free agent stock. Full court steal. Warriors 59, Lakers 57, under 2:00.
geofflepper Monta passed up a 3-point corner shot w/Kobe playing him very loose, in favor of driving baseline to try and get on track. Didn't work. #GSW
KevinDing Halftime: Lakers have 15 turnovers (-> to 17 Warriors points). Warriors have 3 turnovers (-> 3 Lakers points). Yes, this is giving it away.
geofflepper END 2Q: #GSW 65, LAL 59. W's end half on 11-2 run, w/5 from Watson. Hunter 16 PTS, 6 REB. 4 Lakers in 2x figures, but 15 TOs for 17 W's PTS.
LakersReporter G.S. closed the 2nd with a 13-3 run to take a 65-59 lead into the half, keyed by 15 L.A. turnovers. 33-20 in 2nd Q scoring.
nbalivetweet Kobe stripped, time winding down before half buzzer, of course he argues w ref. Despite his talent/skills/rings, still a primadonna. :-(
LakersReporter The 6-point halftime deficit isn't exactly daunting for L.A., who shot 58.3% & took 20 FTs. Just need to hold onto the ball.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS: Kobe turnovers, Steph gets hot, Monta bricks, Sasha please sit down

KevinDing Gasol comes right out of locker room at halftime and goes straight to foul line to work on that stroke. He is 4/8 on FTs.
nbalivetweet Pau Gasol has definitely mastered the yell-as-if-i-got-fouled technique. Oh wait, I said that last half.
geofflepper Kobe commits TO No. 6, Curry scores on ensuing 3-on-1 break to open the second half. #GSW
geofflepper Curry just pulled up in transition, held the ball top-key until Gasol left him to cover Tolliver, and drilled the 3. #GSW
geofflepper "M-V-P" chant starts with Kobe at the line, but then is drowned out by boos. #GSW
nbalivetweet Soooo many Laker fans live in the Bay RT @geofflepper: "M-V-P" chant starts with Kobe at the line, but then is drowned out by boos. #GSW
KevinDing After calling Gasol over to confer about strategy in timeout, Artest goes down bench to slap hands for camaraderie w/all other starters.
nbalivetweet Andrew Bynum just too long. Missed finger roll, tap putback. Anthony Tolliver can't play better D than that. Timeout Don Nelson.
geofflepper Four guys were listening to Nellie/Keith Smart during that last timeout. And then there was Monta Ellis. #GSW
nbalivetweet On ESPN broadcast, Mark Jackson going with Tyreke Evans as ROY, over Steph Curry and Brandon Jennings.
LakersReporter Lakers D has garnered 3 straight stops out of a timeout, with 3 straight hoops at the other end to turn a 3-pt. deficit upside down.
nbalivetweet Corey Maggette misses another worst-shot-in-bball. Take 2 steps back, son, and you're Rashard Lewis. Simple.
LakersReporter Make that 4 straight stops and 4 straight FG's for a 79-74 lead (8-0 run). Gasol's up to 18, Kobe 16, Bynum a 14-10 double-double.
KevinDing All those turnovers didn't hurt Lakers FG%. They've topped 60% (60.4) midway through 3rd; on pace for 126 points.
nbalivetweet Heather Cox on ESPN: "Don Nelson said Steph Curry does the 4 things right...The only thing wrong with him is he's a rookie, still a pup."
gswscribe Warriors frontline getting worn down by Gasol/Bynum/Odom - combined 47 pts, 17-23 FGs, 24 rebounds
LakersReporter It's odd that Corey Maggette has 16 pts without a single trip to the foul line. He's always among league leaders in FTA's.
LakersReporter For those of you unable to watch, L.A.'s up 83-78 w/4:09 in the 3rd Q. RT @deancortez: @LakersReporter wats now the score?
nbalivetweet CJ Watson still on bench and not much happening from Monta Ellis. Lakers 83, Warriors 78, 4:09 3rd qtr.
LakersReporter The Lakers have gone on a 20-5 run since Steph Curry's 3-pointer put G.S. up 9.
nbalivetweet Amazingly, Derek Fisher waltzes to the cup unmolested out of the timeout. Not watchu wanna see.
geofflepper Ellis, leading 3-on-2 break, kicks it over to Curry for Lwing 3-pointer. And he didn't even hold his nose while doing it. #GSW
gswscribe Ellis up tp 10 assists. Curry up to 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting with 6 assists.
nbalivetweet Beautiful swish trey L elbow Stteph Curry, assist Monta Ellis. I could watch him shoot for hours.
gswscribe Ellis 2-for-16, still taking jumpers. They should post him up.
nbalivetweet Derek Fisher 3-ball corner pocket off rim but foul called on Steph Cury. Questionable. Bottom line: momentum killer. Learn from this, rook.
LakersReporter A not-so-good stat: Kobe's up to 7 turnovers for the 2nd straight game. His high for the season was 8, @ CHI in Dec.
geofflepper #GSW offense has cooled (or, LAL D has gotten warmer): W's 8-19 FG this quarter, down 92-85.
KevinDing Standing next to ref, Gasol was looking up at scoreboard for replay to see if he hit CJ Watson in face (Pau's new thing!) but missed it.
nbalivetweet Pau Gasol slaps CJ Watson in face, down in pain. Foul. Luv how Gasol never thinks he fouls anyone. That and Chewbacca grunts. So likable!
KevinDing And thought he was fouled on each one tonight. RT @LakersReporter: Kobe's up to 7 turnovers for 2nd straight game. High for season was 8.
LakersReporter Bryant is the exact opposite of happy after not getting a foul called on his 8th turnover. He also has 20 pts & 4 dimes, L.A. up 7.
geofflepper Strange game for Monta Ellis, who is 2-17 FG but has 10 AST and has hounded Kobe Bryant into 8 TOs. On pace for another 48-minute game. #GSW
LakersReporter The Lakers handled Golden State rather easily in the 3rd Q, outscoring Golden State 35-22 to take a 94-87 lead into the 4th.
nbalivetweet Sasha Vujajic getting some filler minutes near end of 3rd. Just looks awkward out there with the purple short-sleeve tighties under jersey.
KevinDing Boxing on the brain after Pacquiao fight, apparently. Now Farmar and Powell fake-jabbing each other in timeout.
geofflepper END 3Q: LAL 94, #GSW 87. Lakers limit TOs to *only* 5, continue blistering FG pace (61.8%). Tolliver/Hunter combined 0-4 in quarter.

4TH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS: Ah crap! Oh wow! Yeah! Yeah! No! Hurry! Oh!

Where Ah Crap = Kobe's late and-one as a nail in the coffin, Oh wow = Kobe's turnover, Yeah(1) = Kobe's missed FT, Yeah(2) = Steph getting open with a few ticks left, No = Steph missing a wide-open trey, Hurry = Monta's offensive rebound and race back to trey land before buzzer sounding, Oh = Monta's triple-rim-bouncing miss at the buzzer. For less chaos, just watch the NBA.com clip below.

LakersReporter Lamar Odom looked over at Vladi Radmanovic after nailing a turnaround on Devean George to beat the shot clock. Vladi laughed.
LakersReporter Monta Ellis is having the opposite of a good shooting game. He's 2-for-18 from the field. Yikes. Does have 10 dimes.
KevinDing Monta Ellis 2 for 18 from field with 10:22 to play. Not easy to score and defend Kobe at same time.
nbalivetweet Devean George still got the sweet stroke, deep R elbow trey. I'm sure he got his laser on for his former team. Warriors def up for this gm.
geofflepper #GSW go small, LAL go right to Lamar Odom, being "covered" by Monta. Ellis can't stop him from scoring easily.
LakersReporter At the other end of the efficiency spectrum from Ellis is Odom, who is 6-of-6 for 15 pts w/9 reb. Pau 9-of-12, 22 pts.
KevinDing Twitter's character limit is not suited for number of fundamental things Shannon Brown just did wrong in a three-minute span.
nbalivetweet Steph Curry step-around layup. He's so good, being a rook. Dickie V got it right. Raved about him at/before Draft.
nbalivetweet Devean George 3-ball corner pocket! Last attempt went in n out. He came to play. Also took a charge on Andrew Bynum.
nbalivetweet So anyways, looks like Steph Curry broken out of slump vs Lakers. Monta Ellis, no.
KevinDing Kobe is now (with smile) kidding Shannon about him just standing there in paint earlier instead of challenging drive late in P&R play.
geofflepper LOL. RT @KevinDing Twitter's character limit is not suited for number of fundamental things Shannon Brown just did wrong in a 3-minute span.
gswscribe Lakers 100, Warriors 95. Curry leads Ws with 19. Maggette 18. Kobe 20 on 7-for-13. Gasol 22 and 8
nbalivetweet Timeout. Lakers 100, Warriors 95, under 9:00, 4th qtr.
KevinDing I'll say the same thing I said in Phoenix: Sasha is funny.
geofflepper Curry banks home a 10-footer, then drills quick transition 3 to get #GSW within a point, 101-100 LAL.
nbalivetweet On one end of the spectrum you have Kobe, most athletic. Other end, Sasha Vujajic. Just looked silly on that rimmer and attempted save OOB.
gswscribe I know someone is going nuts now that Curry is taking over. He's got seven in the quarter.
nbalivetweet Steph Curry with a crafty banker and a stepback trey. But Lakers size ends the momentum. Andrew Bynum power and-one.
KevinDing Shannon has made so many mistakes, he ran over to bench thinking for sure he was yanked. Phil had to send him back in.
LakersReporter Moments ago, it was 100-90 Lakers. G.S. then went on a 10-1 run capped by Curry's 3 before a tough and-1 from Bynum (19 & 13).
LakersReporter Continues to be a great showing from my personal favorite NBA road crowd here in Oakland, their team down 3, 6:41 to go.
nbalivetweet Lamar Odom indefensible running floater. Lakers 106, Warriors 100, under 7:00.
nbalivetweet Steph Curry opposite court assist and-one to Anthony Tolliver after driving L baseline. Wow! FT good. Lakers 106, Warriors 103.
LakersReporter Holy .... Shannon Brown just jumped 15 feet into the air for a rebound.
gswscribe Back-to-back terrible shots by Curry. Those two possessions are why jumpers in transition are a bad practice. Meanwhile, Lakers going inside
geofflepper Oracle crowd was waiting to erupt, but Curry missed the open 3. Then Kobe, working on Maggette, gets easy layup and one. LAL 110, #GSW 103.
nbalivetweet Andrew Bynum's length gives more opps off Kobe's miss layup via post. But misses! Steph Curry can't bring house down tho. Kobe back w and-1.
gswscribe Great question. Warriors down 53-21 on boards @jamesvenes Has an NBA team ever finished the game with more assists than rebounds?
KevinDing Pretty funny to watch all the Lakers' fans sprout up and start pointing and at Warriors fans after Kobe hits his and-1.
gswscribe They just announced Rickey Henderson's presence and put him on the big screen, only everyone in front of him stood up
KevinDing Celeb moment here in Oakland on the scoreboard ... Rickey Henderson! You do what you can when you're not Staples.
KevinDing The best part of it was fans here in Oakland are so manic that they all went crazy jumping up in front of Rickey and we could barely see him
LakersReporter Dark spot in otherwise terrific game from Bynum (19 pts, 14 rebs & 3 blks): 8 TO's, like Kobe. G.S. has 5 total. L.A. still up 8.
nbalivetweet Don Nelson mic'd up (to Anthony Tolliver?): "You should never run from under basket to be a shooter."
nbalivetweet Do the Warriors have one last push? Lakers 111, Warriors 103 after Kobe makes the and-one FT.
nbalivetweet Steph Curry trey R elbow early offense (are any Warrior buckets not early?), Lakers 114, Warriors 108. But Kobe trey other way.
LakersReporter Curry's 5th 3 was answered immediately by Kobe, who now has 28 pts. Then a Fish to Pau alley-oop put L.A. up 11, 3 min left.
geofflepper Kobe nails a 3 in Ellis' mug, then Fisher oops to Pau on 4-on-2 break. LAL 119, #GSW 108, 3:18 left. Somebody cue Dandy Don.
gswscribe Kobe 3 and Gasol dunk puts Warriors down 119-108, 3:18 left. Bryant 28 and 4 ast. Curry 27 and 7 ast. Turned out to be nce game for Curry
KevinDing 11 on 1/31/08 at DET. He has 8 with 3:18 to play. RT @LakersHighlight: @KevinDing what's kobe's career high for turnovers?
geofflepper But only 2&1 in second half, when LAL got serious. RT @DonNelsonRiley Hunter has 18&7 against NBA's best frontcourt. Earned more minutes?
nbalivetweet Oops, delete my tweet. Missed it. Thx to Twitter, it was a Pau Gasol oop fr Derek Fisher. Lakers 119, Warriors 108, 3:14, 4th qtr collapse?
KevinDing I'll give Andrew's previous career high in TOs after I finish watching dance-off between heavyset white woman and heavyset black woman here.
KevinDing Hilarious.
KevinDing Bynum has 8 turnovers tonight. His previous career high was 6 on 1/23/08 vs. SAC.
nbalivetweet Corey Maggette blocked down low via Monta Ellis feed, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom too tall, Derek Fisher to scrappy/slappy. Blocked again.
nbalivetweet Monta Ellis breakaway layup. Pau Gasol barely misses an and-one on diminutive Corey Maggette. Lakers 121, Warriors 110, 2:00 after FTs.
LakersReporter Gasol chewed upon matchup advantages inside all night, getting to 26 pts w/9 reb, 4 ast & 1 blk on 10-of-13 FGs.
nbalivetweet Steph Curry splits Laker double up top goes up, thinks about it, scoop finger roll. He's so good. Way more skilled than half the league.
nbalivetweet Chris Hunter running layup good, Steph Curry assist via double team. Warriors down 5, 0:50. Miracle?
gswscribe Ellis was 3-for-20 before knocking down a pull-up 3 in transition after picking Kobe's pocket. 121-119, 13.9 secs left
nbalivetweet Kobe loses ball to Monta Ellis, who breaks and pulls up trey, good! Down 2 with under :24. They don't foul! Then foul Shannon Brown.
LakersReporter Wait a second ... a quick 9-0 run to an almost indifferent Lakers team had G.S. within 2, 13.9 to play, b4 2 Brown FT's. 123-119.
nbalivetweet Shannon Brown FTs good. 2nd one touches almost every part of rim. Timeout. 13.9 ticks left. Warriors down 4 to Lakers.
geofflepper Ellis strips a fallen Kobe (9th TO), pulls up for transition 3 to make it 121-119, LAL. Shannon Brown 2 FTs put Lakers up 4 w/13.9 secs left
LakersReporter Kobe has had to play 40 minutes tonight on the front end of a back-to-back. Artest 37, Gasol 35, Fisher 33.
nbalivetweet ESPN replay: Kobe slams bench seat next to Phil Jackson in frustration after the turnover.
geofflepper Ellis layup, Kobe fouled. 2 FTs coming up.
geofflepper Kobe misses 1st...
gswscribe Amidst chants of MVP, Kobe misses FT. 123-121 Lakers, 8.6 seconnds left. One more FT
nbalivetweet Monta Ellis quick layup. As I said before, fastest RH in the Association. Kobe fouled with 8.6. Misses! Subs coming in/out.
LakersReporter After L.A. conceded an Ellis layup, Kobe improbably missed the front end of 2 FTs w/8.6 to play. G.S. within 3.
geofflepper Kobe makes second. LAL 124, #GSW 121. 8.6 seconds left. W's timeout.
nbalivetweet Kobe 2nd FT good. Timeout. Lakers 124, Warriors 121, 0:08.6 remaining. Who shoots it? I'm sure the Lakers are thinking Steph Curry.
gswscribe Warriors ball, down 3, 8.6 seconds left. Tolliver (3-5 from 3), not Curry (5-8 from 3), is getting this shot
LakersReporter We'll see if the Lakers choose to foul or not, up 124-121, to avoid a game-tying 3.
nbalivetweet You might wanna decoy it to Steph Curry, then go with Anthony Morrow. Mark Jackson recommending Lakers foul. 8.6 left.
gswscribe Wow. What an ending. Curry misses the 3. Ellis rebounds it, runs out the the 3 line, it bounced three times before falling off. Lakers win
nbalivetweet The epitome of the Warriors! Steph Curry takes it out, Derek Fisher bites! Steph misses wide open trey R elbow on pass back...
geofflepper Curry 3 off back rim, Monta OREB, races to top-key, but his 3 at buzzer bounces 3 times on rim before rolling off. LAL 124, #GSW 121.
LakersReporter Lakers win. By a sliver. Both Curry & Ellis had great looks at a tying 3, both missed. Monta's bounced around rim for 3 seconds.
gswscribe Can you fault Ellis for not giving it Curry on his left or Morrow on his right, instead taking a rushed turnaround 3?
LakersReporter Your final: Lakers 124, Warriors 121, L.A. heading to Sacramento for the back end of a back-to-back tomorrow.
nbalivetweet ...but after Steph Curry's miss trey, Monta Ellis somehow gets rebound, dribbles way to top for trey, bounces on rim 2-3 times, no good!

POST-BUZZER THOUGHTS: Lakers' outrebounding and turnovers, Warriors lack of turnovers, I believe...in the value of this franchise

nbalivetweet I said it earlier and i'll say it again: Larry Ellison, believe it or not, the Warriors ARE worth that much. Please just buy the team.
LakersReporter Ridiculous stat: Lakers grabbed 56 rebounds to just 29 for the Warriors. In a related stat, L.A. had 24 TO's, G.S. just 5.
KevinDing Kobe's wife Vanessa here outside locker room, getting a hug from Ronny Turiaf.
KevinDing Turiaf now visiting with Phil Jax, who mocked Ronny's engineer cap: "The choo-choo train is leaving."
KevinDing Ronny's weak reply to Phil showed he's out of practice in dealing with Phil's barbs: "I can't hear you."
KevinDing It's not just Vanessa who is here. Lots of family/friends around postgame. Phil spending time w/ ex-wife June (who lives in SF) and son Ben.

So imagine all that happening real-time. Fun and informative, eh?

One last thought: as I mentioned, the NBA Draft this year has a lot of good big men. The Warriors have the third-worst record in the league, so you figure based on recent lottery history, they can't be any worse than Draft Pick #5 or #6, right?

In the top two, you have the highly talented ballhandlers John Wall and Evan Turner. I think Monta and Steph can co-exist and all they need are bigs who can run the floor, finish layups, and block shots. That being said, I think not drafting Wall or Turner would work out best and least complicated for the Warriors. However, if you get the #1 or #2 pick, you can't pass up either Wall or Turner. From there, you're looking at trades.

So whether or not Monta stays or gets dealt may come down to which ping pong ball the Warriors get. Let's look at the big men available:

• DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky: I'm gonna say it. He's better offensively than Chris Webber was. This guy is special. He's just a little crazy in the head, meaning immature, but that's kind of just the tip of the iceberg.
• Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech: Also a freshman like Cousins, this kid is mobile, can finish, can rebound, can run the floor. Like I said, this is a deep draft.
• Patrick Patterson, Kentucky: This guy is NBA-ready. The only reason he is lower on the draft boards than some others is because, similar to the comparison of Turner and Wall, he's already polished. There's not much of a ceiling left, which is good and bad. I actually think it's more good than bad and that NBA GM's are too enamored by "potential" and not enough by "NBA-ready". After all, we want guys to come in and produce, right? That's worth a whole blogpost in and of itself.
• Greg Monroe, Georgetown: Not the most nimble, but still quite athletic, relatively speaking. He had a great Big East tournament, has nice face-up moves, but draft experts tend to knock him on the quickness. However, I think some of that has to do with the fact that this is a deep draft and their judging based on context.

There's others who are quality bigs who can run the floor, are athletic, and can rebound and block shots. In other drafts, they'd be higher, but the names mentioned above...wow. The Warrior front office would have to screw up royally to draft the wrong guy. Here's hoping they've been watching their boys play the last few games.

Without knowing off the cuff what the Warriors' prospects are for additional draft picks, I would also recommend some wheeling and dealing for more 2nd-rounders. Again, deep draft. Stockpile the bigs.

I watch a lot of prospects in NCAA ball and I try to picture -- and this is actually realistic! -- a DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Favors, or Patrick Patterson D'ing up Bynum and/or Gasol tonight. Folks, it's do-able, especially if you tack on another young'un off the bench...say, shot-blocker Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State?