LeBron and Luka Dominate as Lakers Beat Warriors Without Curry

Merlin notes that LeBron James and Luka Dončić carried the Lakers to a 129-101 road blowout of the Warriors on Luka's 27th birthday. The duo combined for 48 points, with Dončić scoring 26 and LeBron adding 22 while sinking four threes to become just the second Laker with 1,000 career three-pointers. Golden State, missing Stephen Curry, could not keep pace and fell to 31-29 while Los Angeles improved to 35-24. Merlin sees the bigger picture as clear and shifting. Curry’s nagging knee setback looms large — as Marc Spears put it, "Around All-Star Weekend, [Steph] had a setback. He was trying to get back and it pushed him back." The Lakers picked up momentum; the Warriors must scrape together scoring and health until their leader returns.