February 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) shoots ahead of Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake Larabia (12) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Image The California team, competing for Western Conference playoff positioning, takes on the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers in San Francisco on Saturday.
The Lakers are here to snap a three-game losing skid that has left them in a precarious position in the West’s postseason picture. Thursday’s 113-110 loss to Phoenix leaves Los Angeles in sixth place, just one game ahead of the Suns for the final guaranteed playoff spot.
Thursday’s loss marks the team’s second straight one-point deficit, following a 110-109 loss to Orlando on Tuesday.
“We’re the Lakers and our losses are bigger than other teams because of the way we lost,” LA coach JJ Reddick said. “… But we’ve been great in the clutch for the most part all year.”
With 24 games remaining in the Lakers’ regular season, clutch minutes are starting to shift from game-to-game scenarios to an overall theme.
They are part of a bottleneck of five teams in the conference, with just three wins coming from third-place Houston and seventh-place Phoenix, who are tied with Denver and Minnesota in winning percentage.
Golden State is in 8th place, 3 wins behind Los Angeles and Phoenix, 2 wins overall, 3.5 wins, and 2.5 wins behind. The Warriors are 2-2 with very mixed results since returning from the All-Star break.
They toppled Denver 128-117 on Feb. 22, but then lost 113-109 to a languishing New Orleans team near the West’s cellar. Golden State bounced back from a 133-112 rout of Memphis on Wednesday, with all nine Warriors playing in the game scoring at least nine points.
Among them was Brandin Podziemski, who had a strong all-around performance with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
“He still gets in trouble sometimes, but he’s also a young player who has the ability to do a lot of things. He’s trying to do a lot, so everything is being done with great intent,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Poziemski, who is in his third year and averaging 12.3 points per game. “It’s just finding the balance. I think he’s doing a good job of that.”
Poziemski is part of the team that has kept Golden State’s postseason hopes alive despite numerous injuries. The Warriors lost Jimmy Butler for the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in January, and two-time MVP Steph Curry remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Moses Moody and veteran big man Al Horford have helped shoulder some of the pressure in recent weeks, each putting up 20-plus point performances since returning from the All-Star break.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are playing with the most complete squad this season. LeBron James is averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game and has played in all but four games since missing the first month of the regular season.
Austin Reaves, who averaged a career-high 24.6 points per game, returned after a month-long hiatus before the All-Star break. The two join MVP candidate Luka Doncic, who averages 32.7 points, 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Los Angeles were without Rui Hachimura from Phoenix due to illness. It is questionable whether he will play against Golden State.
–Field level media
