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Deadpool was the Lakers' secret weapon to beat the Warriors

A comic book character best known for breaking the fourth wall may be the reason Golden State hit a wall in Los Angeles last month.

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Lakers unexpected victory over the Golden State Warriors on March 6th was probably the high-point of the former team's season while simultaneously serving as a low-point for the latter. It was the biggest upset in NBA history according to the numbers, as no team with a winning percentage as high as the Warriors' had ever lost to a team with one as low as the Lakers'.

Warriors' forward Draymond Green recently called the Lakers one of "three teams [that] really beat us," but did the purple and gold actually get some unexpected help from Deadpool? (Hang on, I'll explain.)

One of the main reasons the Lakers were able to pull off the shocker was the uncharacteristic struggles of presumptive MVP Stephen Curry. The Warriors' superstar only made one of his ten three-pointers against Los Angeles, the second lowest percentage he has shot from behind the arc this year. Making matters worse, his 6-20 shooting overall was the third worst percentage he has shot from the field this season. The Warriors had three full days off before playing the Lakers, so no one could chalk it up to fatigue from a back-to-back, but it turns out Curry may have been tired for another reason.

According to the Warriors, the team arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday, the day before they were scheduled to take on the Lakers. That little piece of trivia wouldn't be notable, if not for this small nugget contained in Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated's excellent profile of Warrior's manager of security Ralph Walker:

When the Warriors arrived in Los Angeles to play the Lakers earlier this month, over 100 fans waited outside the hotel. After helping players navigate the entrance, Walker accompanied Curry to a shoot for Under Armour in the evening, then fielded a call from Steph after the team dinner. He wanted to go see Deadpool. At midnight. So Walker chaperoned Curry, along with friends and family, to the 12:30 a.m. showing at a local theater, returning to the hotel by 3 a.m.

The Warriors played against the Lakers at 12:30 p.m. later that day, and Curry's pregame shooting routine begins anywhere from 75 to 90 minutes before games begin, meaning he had to be at Staples Center around 11 a.m. That doesn't exactly leave him a ton of time for sleep if he didn't get back to his hotel by 3 a.m.

Curry's struggles have to be at least in part chalked up to the wear-and-tear of the NBA schedule, luck, and to a limited degree the Lakers' own defensive efforts (although Curry missed quite a few wide open looks).

With all that said, the Lakers may have gotten an unexpected assist from the merc with a mouth for this win, and if this loss leads to the Warriors narrowly missing out on making history by topping the Chicago Bull's best all-time 72-10 record, they may find themselves using a few words even the decidedly R-rated Deadpool might find unsavory.

All stats per NBA.com. You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.

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