RECAP: Lakers Drop Season Opener to Warriors Despite 43 Points from Luka Doncic, 119-109
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves put the team on their backs and gave it their all in their attempt to will L.A. to victory, but the collective effort from Golden State was too much to handle.
The 2025-2026 season kicked off with the Lakers hosting the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. The Warriors went into tonight without Moses Moody and De’Anthony Melton. L.A. was without LeBron James, Adou Theiro, and Maxi Kleber, who, as of today, was diagnosed with a strained oblique and will be out for 2 weeks.
Luka Doncic put on a spectacular show, scoring 43 points, 9 assists, 12 rebounds, and 2 steals on 17-27 shooting. Austin Reaves, despite having some turnover trouble (5), poured in 26 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals on 9-16 shooting. The Lakers couldn’t find much else on offense outside of those two, with DeAndre Ayton being the only other player in double digits with 10 points.
On the other hand, Golden State was led by Jimmy Butler’s 31 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds on 7-14 from the field and 16-16 from the line. Steph Curry had 23 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals on 6-14 shooting. In addition to Butler and Curry’s performance, it was Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield’s scoring and three-point shooting that gave them a huge boost, combining for 9-16 from the three-point line.
What Went Wrong for the Lakers?
Going into the season, defense was a major concern for this squad, and tonight the Lakers’ lack of perimeter defense was evident. They allowed easy blow-by’s, offered little resistance in transition, and struggled to stay on three-point shooters.
Despite their poor shooting from the arc (8-32), the Lakers were actually very efficient from the field overall, shooting 42-77 (54.5%). The Lakers also failed to capitalize on their 28 free throw attempts, making only 17. But their troubles on offense mostly stemmed from their turnovers. They turned the ball over 20 times —10 of those by Golden State steals —and it resulted in 23 points.
The Warriors weren’t much better at taking care of the ball, however, as they themselves had 19 turnovers, 7 of which were Laker steals. The Lakers did an excellent job capitalizing on Golden State’s miscues, converting the Warriors’ 19 turnovers into 22 points.
All in all, the more the Lakers emphasize taking care of the ball, the better their offense will flow, and it will make Luka’s and Austin’s lives a lot easier. Defensively, the Lakers will have to learn on the fly and put together at least a passable defensive system as they search for their identity on that end.
L.A. hosts Minnesota on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
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