Warriors at Lakers final score: Iguodala strains hamstring as Golden State loses to LA, 98-95

When a playoff-bound team loses to a lottery-bound team in the NBA, it is never a good thing, but on Friday night, the Golden State Warriors are likely much more worried about the health of one of their own than the final score of their game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala went down with a strained left hamstring after just 28 minutes of game action on Friday, and after his departure, Golden State couldn’t muster a final run to outlast the Lakers in their 102-95 defeat. The word “strain” is fairly encouraging (especially when released by the team itself), but Iguodala was already playing point guard in the absence of Steph Curry and Toney Douglas, and they can’t afford to be without him for long.

On the court, the Lakers (playing at home) shot the lights out from beyond the arc to pulse their victory. As a team, Los Angeles shot 11 for 24 (45.8%) from beyond the arc, and the LA bench was tremendous on this night. Nick Young scored 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting in 31 minutes, and Jordan Farmar was outstanding in 19 minutes, scoring 14 points and dishing out 8 assists. That was more than enough support for Pau Gasol (who led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds) and company to hold off Golden State for a win, and the Lakers are now 5-7 on the young season.

Golden State battled valiantly in the absence of any sort of ball-handling presence, and this was the best game of the season from Harrison Barnes. The forward from North Carolina had a season-high 20 points in the loss, and he joined with David Lee (who posted his 5th double-double of the year with 21 points and 13 boards) in keeping the game competitive.

In the end, all of the focus will be on Iguodala’s health, and frankly, that’s the big takeaway from this game. Fortunately, the outlook looks fairly bright, at least from the outside, and we’ll know more in short order.