Golden State Warriors Team Report - December 4

(Basketball News) - The Golden State Warriors were handed a setback by the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at the Staples Center.

The Warriors were handed their fourth consecutive loss, as LA posted a 97-88 victory behind a season-high 27 points from Caron Butler and a triple double by Kobe Bryant.

Jason Richardson racked up 22 points and seven assists, while Troy Murphy recorded 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors, who fell to 3-12 on the year.

The Lakers were down 83-79 with six minutes remaining, but reeled off 12 unanswered points to forge ahead to stay. Chucky Atkins began the deciding run with a three-pointer and Bryant sank a pair of clutch jumpers. The spurt concluded when Brian Cook drained a trey from the baseline with 2:48 to go which put Los Angeles up 91-83.

Golden State has lost in 19 of its last 21 visits to Los Angeles, including 10 of the last 11 matchups.

The Warriors are back in action on Saturday night when they host the Indiana Pacers.

Tonight’s game marks the first meeting of the season between the Pacers and Warriors. Indiana won both matchups last year and has taken five of six and seven of the last 10 encounters. The Pacers have also won in two of three and five of their last seven trips to Oakland.