Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors Box Score on Apr 12, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 13, 2017

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant stamped himself ready for the postseason with 29 points in 27 minutes Wednesday night, lifting the Golden State Warriors to a 109-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the regular-season finale.

Stephen Curry added 20 points for the Warriors, who will begin the playoffs with the home-court advantage in any matchup based on their best-in-basketball 67-15 regular-season record.

The Warriors will host Game 1 of a Western Conference best-of-7 first-round series Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Lakers (26-56) saw their five-game winning streak end, and they finished with the third-worst record in the NBA. They now must await the bounce of the ping-pong balls to determine their draft fate.

The Lakers would lose their first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers if it falls outside the top three. Los Angeles has less than a 50-50 chance of earning a top-three pick in the lottery.

Durant, who had missed all nine of his 3-point attempts since returning from a 19-game absence last week, bombed in 5 of 7 to produce a majority of his points.

His 27 minutes were right in line with the 31 and 33 he logged in his first two games back from a sprained knee.

Durant wasted little time ending his 3-point shooting drought against the Lakers, hitting a 27-footer in the fourth minute of play.

When Curry connected on his second 3-pointer of the game on the Warriors' next possession, Golden State opened a 16-8 lead 4:03 into the contest.

Durant added two more 3-pointers in the first period, during which the Warriors opened a 43-28 lead on the strength of six threes and 55.6-percent shooting overall.

The Lakers weren't appreciably closer the rest of the way.

Durant also found time for a team-high eight rebounds as Golden State captured the season series 3-1 from the Lakers despite losing 117-97 in the first meeting in November.

Curry took 17 shots in his 28 minutes, missing 11 of them, But five of the six he made were from 3-point range, accounting for most of his scoring.

He also had a game-high eight assists.

All five Lakers starters scored in double figures, led by Jordan Clarkson with 17 points on 8-for-16 shooting.

The Lakers made only 4 of 17 3-point attempts and were outscored 36-12 from behind the arc.

Larry Nance Jr. had a game-high 11 rebounds to complement 13 points for the Lakers, who have lost nine straight at Golden State.

NOTES: The Warriors swept Portland 4-0 during the regular season, winning by an average of 26.5 points at home and 12.5 points on the road. ... The Warriors rested PF Draymond Green and supersub SF Andre Iguodala in the regular-season finale. ... The Lakers were without PG D'Angelo Russell, who was in Kentucky following the death of his grandmother. ... None of the four games in the Warriors-Lakers season series this season was decided by fewer than 15 points. ... The Warriors' 67-win total equaled the seventh most in NBA history. Golden State set the all-time record of 73 wins last season. ... The Lakers missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They earned a postseason berth in 60 of the first 65 seasons in franchise history.