SIM SZN: Danny Green goes perfect from 3-point range as Lakers take Game 4

Editor’s note: As we wait for real NBA basketball to return, we’re going to simulate the rest of the games that the Los Angeles Lakers have on their schedule on NBA 2K20.

When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Danny Green to a two-year, $30 million deal last summer, the hope was that he’d knock down open 3-point shots when LeBron James and Anthony Davis were double-teamed, and play lockdown perimeter defense on the other end.

While he didn’t exactly live up to expectations in the regular season, he’s come alive in the postseason, and that was especially true in the Lakers’ 112-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday.

In 32 minutes, Green scored 22 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting from behind the arc. Green has scored six or more 3-pointers seven times in his postseason career, but he’s never gone 6-6 from 3-point range in the playoffs before. The last time Green made at least six 3-pointers in a playoff game was last year against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Obviously it’s unrealistic to assume Green will maintain that type of efficiency for the remainder of the series, but it’s not unrealistic to assume that he’ll make six 3-pointers again this season. Last season, he did it twice in the NBA Finals, and with two superstar teammates James and Davis that demand attention from the opposing defense, Green will have the opportunity to do it again.

James and Davis combined for 60 points, with both of them scoring 30 points. James added 13 assists to his point total, while Davis tallied 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Dion Waiters was the only other Laker to finish in double figures.

The Lakers will head back home to Staples Center to try and finish the series off in five games. It’s one more game than they would have liked to play, but as long as they punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, they shouldn’t be too broken up about it.

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