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The Golden State Warriors have opened the 2025-26 NBA season with a 119-109 win on the road over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jimmy Butler led the Warriors with 31 points, 16 of which came from a perfect free-throw shooting performance, while Steph Curry added 23 points.
Luka Dončić carried the Lakers with 43 points on 17-of-27 shooting, but got precious little help from his teammates in the loss. Los Angeles was without LeBron James, who missed a season opener for the first time in his NBA career due to sciatica.
Luka Dončić had 43 points tonight. Austin Reaves had 26, for a total of 69 points between the two.
The other seven players who saw the court for the Lakers recorded 50 points combined.
Simply got good enough from Dončić’s supporting cast, even when accounting for LeBron James being sidelined.
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Luka Dončić sure can make it look easy out there sometimes and tonight was one of those nights.
Even while shooting 2-for-10 from 3, Dončić dropped 43 points on 17-of-27 shooting, grabbing 12 boards and dropping nine dimes, not to mention two steals and a block.
With the way the Lakers roster is built, especially with LeBron James sidelined, a lot will be required of Dončić early in the season.
It’s Year 17 in the NBA for Steph Curry, a man who has precious little left to accomplish at the highest level of basketball. Yet Curry remains one of the league’s best players, though he downplayed that success when speaking to NBC postgame:
💬 “It starts with God. There’s no reason other than it’s a blessing to be healthy and be able to keep playing. Outside of that, I love to hoop, love the teammates I have, and just the opportunity to keep chasing, hopefully another title but just great basketball in the process. It brings the best out of you when you get out here and the lights are bright.”
It’s easy to forget now, but the Warriors were clinging to a one-point lead at halftime. Here’s Steph Curry talking to NBC about how his team flipped the switch in the second half:
💬 “We got stops, but I think in the second quarter, we kind of got a little stagnant on offense. Our organized chaos took over those first four minutes (of the third quarter) — easy layups, easy catch-and-shoot 3s just off of ball movement — so, Warriors basketball took over.”
With LeBron James sidelined, Austin Reaves will need to shoulder a larger role offensively and tonight he did just that.
Despite foul trouble in the second half, he scored 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting, getting to the line 10 times and making seven free throws. Reaves added nine dimes, five boards and two steals.
It is worth noting that he was a team-low -14 tonight, though.
Buddy Hield got hot in the second half, helping the Warriors pull away from the Lakers in Los Angeles.
The 32-year-old is never shy to let it fly, going 5-of-10 from deep in 22 minutes, dropping 17 points off the bench.
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Love him or hate him, Draymond Green consistently finds way to impact winning. As usual, he stuffed the statsheet tonight, finishing with eight points, nine assists, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
In 28 minutes, Green was tied with Jimmy Butler as a team-high +20.
New contract, new number, new Jonathan Kuminga.
The 23-year-old got going in the third quarter, helping the Warriors separate from the Lakers. Kuminga was an efficient 6-for-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep, finishing with 17 points, nine boards and six assists.
After he was bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers, Deandre Ayton signed with the Lakers and made his debut tonight.
In 33 minutes, he scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, adding six boards and a block. Ayton was not aggressive tonight, but it may take some time for him to get on the same page with Luka Doncic.
Jimmy Butler's competitiveness and wherewithal is endearing to his teammates and frustrating for opposing teams. Tonight, he tormented the Lakers with his ability to draw fouls.
Butler finished with 31 points on 7-14 shooting, going a pristine 16-of-16 from the free throw line. He also added five boards, four assists and a steal, leading the team with 34 minutes.
Final – Warriors 119, Lakers 109
A statement from the Warriors, showing that they’re much more than Stephen Curry. They go nearly wire-to-wire despite only 23 points from their superstar, as Golden State is led by 31 points from Jimmy Butler with Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield each providing key second-half sparks en route to 17-point performances.
The Lakers appear to be in the exact opposite category, wasting a 43-point effort from Luka Doncic because he simply did not have enough scoring help around him.
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Q4 0:51 – Warriors 117, Lakers 109
Luka Doncic is up to 43 points … but the Warriors are still pouring it on the other end!
And Stephen Curry hits the dagger 3-pointer with under a minute left!
Stephen Curry, after an offensive rebound, from 36 feet.
That's the shot that empties the downtown Los Angeles arena for tonight.
Defense: Luka Doncic forces a tough Stephen Curry miss, then Curry blocks a Gabe Vincent corner 3,
Not Defense: Doncic had to deal with Jimmy Butler on the next possession, and Butler went by Luka as if Doncic was a matador evading the bull.
Q4 2:17 – Warriors 108, Lakers 100
Steph Curry gets it done on defense! He blocks Gabe Vincent’s corner 3 on the close-out. That leads to yet another basket in the paint from Jimmy Butler. The Warriors are back up by double digits.
Q4 3:16 – Warriors 108, Lakers 100
HUGE corner 3 for Draymond Green! Austin Reaves is fouled on the other end and can only hit one of two free throws…
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Signs of life for Lakers: They answer a Will Richard corner 3 out of a Warriors timeout by sprinting to a 9-0 run in 100 seconds. Steve Kerr has to burn a timeout, and the Warriors have only one left for the last 3:59 of what is now a 105-99 lead that was once 15.
Q4 3:59 – Warriors 105, Lakers 99
There’s Will Richard’s first NBA bucket as the Warriors rookie drains a corner 3.
But here come the Lakers! A 9-0 run with Luka Doncic at the center… he finds Rui Hachimura for a 3, hits a jumper in the paint, and then DeAndre Ayton and Austin Reaves chip in buckets!
Crypto.com arena is rocking for the first time tonight. the Lakers are within six. Timeout Warriors with just under four minutes to play.
Oh my.
This will be Luka Doncic's highest-scoring season opener of his career (previous: 35 points in 2022).
