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The Golden State Warriors now have their first victory of the 2026 NBA preseason.
Facing a Los Angeles Lakers squad missing Luka Dončić, the Dubs led wire-to-wire while dominating for much of the 48 minutes. The final score was 124-98, but there were times in which it didn't even feel that close.
Stephen Curry was sensational, finishing with 16 points and five assists in under 15 minutes of action. Draymond Green doled out eight assists and was a plus-25 in just over 14 minutes.
It was rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, however, who stole the show. He racked up 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block while flashing just about every trick in his bag. He knocked down two of his three long-range attempts, consistently attacked the Lakers' shaky paint defense, played with physicality on the glass and even spent some time at center.
Bright spots were harder to come by for Los Angeles. But it got a stellar offensive performance from Sandro Mamukelashvili (15 points), an overall solid outing from Adou Thiero (seven points, four rebounds) and another glimpse into Chris Mañon's feisty defense (two steals, one block).
Catch up with all the highlights, analysis, postgame commentary and storylines coming out of this one below.
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So, just to recap: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Yaxel Lendeborg, Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler and Al Horford will all be out Wednesday night when the Warriors travel to take on the Blazers.
Brandon Williams, it's your time to shine.
And with that, our watch(along) has ended. Catch ya next time, friends!
Golden State has talked a lot about "reimagining" or "reinventing" its offense this year. Among the changes: Less of Draymond Green facilitating from the top of the floor, and more of him spacing out to the corners.
People have naturally wondered how the 36-year-old would respond to this shift (among others). Steve Kerr makes it sound like this will be a non-issue. Which is great! But let's see how it all unfolds in the regular season before retiring our curiosity.
File this one under "Quentin Grimes is definitely going to start for the Lakers, and it's kind of hysterical anyone ever wondered whether that was up for debate."
Maybe you thought Steve Kerr would chillax because it's only preseason. Or because the Warriors were up big.
Think again.
Despite making mincemeat out of the shorthanded Lakers, you just know this giveaway is going to keep Kerr up for a few extra minutes tonight. At least.
It turns out the Warriors were just operating with an overabundance of caution. Phew.
But also, none of us should be opposed to the Dubs continuing to experiment with more Yaxel Lendeborg-at-the-5 lineups.
CC: Jonathan Kuminga.
It appears JJ Redick, not unlike Stephen Curry, is already in midseason form.
The Lakers' next practice should be fun.
Welp. Now we know why Al Horford didn't play tonight.
For the Warriors' sake, hopefully this is them operating with an overabundance of caution. If it's not, well, we can add Horford to an "Uh-oh" list that already includes Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porziņģis and Moses Moody.
Stephen Curry is 38 going on 29, apparently.
Preseason is preseason is preseason. Blah, blah, blah. It is legitimately insane that he's still capable of these offensive displays nearly 20 years into his career.
For the Warriors, it is also necessary. As good as Yaxel Lendeborg and even Draymond Green looked against the Lakers, Golden State's notable absences are already piling up. This team will, once again, only go as far as Steph can ferry them.
The biggest revelation from this: Yaxel Lendeborg apparently reached out to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green after getting drafted by the Warriors.
If nothing else, this is proof Golden State's rookie gets it.
The final buzzer has sounded. The Dubs picked up their first preseason victory in a big way on Nellie Night.
Stay tuned for some postgame reactions...
Score: Warriors 124 , Lakers 98 | FINAL
Entering the final mandatory timeout of the night, we can now officially call this one what it is: a barnburner.
Score: Warriors 122 , Lakers 84 | 3:02 remaining in the fourth quarter
Here's a look from earlier tonight at the NBA's new emphasis on "freedom of movement" and eradicating egregious off-arm pushes in action.
Steph looked waaaaay too excited to draw this call on Bronny, by the way.
Some bad ol' fashion body-shaming at Draymond Green's expense was making the rounds on Twitter the other day. The four-time champ's impact during the first half was a good reminder that certain people have too much time on their hands and, in all likelihood, don't know ball.
Oh, yeah, by the way: The Dubs are still gobsmacking the Lakers.
Score: Warriors 102 , Lakers 80 | 8:15 remaining in the fourth quarter
Chris Mañon is, indeed, putting in work at the defensive end. All the usual preseason caveats apply, but if he can pepper in a corner three here and there, the Lakers' new defensive philosophy may necessitate giving him minutes once the games start to matter.
(Note: He drilled a right corner three as I wrote this!)
Score: Warriors 96 , Lakers 70 | 1:13 remaining in the third quarter
The rookie is vibing himself hard right now. And frankly, he's earned the right to do just that tonight.
This is valuable data collection for the Warriors. With Kristaps Porziņģis out and Al Horford and Draymond Green not exactly being fountains of youth, the rookie may need to sponge up more reps at the 5 than the team expected.
Knowing how much time Walker Kessler missed last season, maybe the Lakers shouldn't have flipped Deandre Ayton for an end-of-the-bench guard in Jaden Hardy?
At the very least, they could have figured out a way to keep Jaxson Hayes (now of the Utah Jazz).
If Steph Curry ever retires, or if the mothership ever calls him home, we must agree to riot.
A frenetic first half ends with the Warriors taking a 28-point lead over the Lakers into the locker room.
Stephen Curry has racked up 16 points and five assists. And multiple four-point plays, because of course. Yaxel Lendeborg leads all scorers with 17. Brandin Podziemski has pumped in 14 points of his own, on a tidy 6-of-9 clip from the floor.
Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili lead the way for the Lakers with 12 points apiece. Nobody else on the team is in double-figures.
Golden State is really pushing the pace. It is also a plus-14 over Los Angeles on points in the paint. Neither team is taking great care of the ball, but the Lakers clearly miss having an offensive organizer on the floor—not to mention a certified rim protector.
Score: Warriors 81 , Lakers 53 | Halftime
The Lakers are getting absolutely waxed right now, but at least picking up Cameron Carr at the draft remains a good decision.
Score: Warriors 79 , Lakers 49 | 1:34 remaining in the second quarter
To be fair, Yaxel has a point. He's been a force getting downhill basically all night.
"Why walk when you can fly?"
—Mary Chapin Carpenter, crystal-balling Adou Thiero's life philosophy roughly a decade before he was born.
First, LeBron James spurns the Warriors in free agency. Then, Bronny James drills a pull-up jumper in Draymond Green's face.
Will the James family ever stop torturing the Dubs?
It will be fascinating to see what this new-look Lakers defense can do with Walker Kessler behind their perimeter guys instead of Kevon Looney or Sandro Mamukelashvili.
A sign of things to come? The Warriors better hope so.
Not just Draymond Green finding Yaxel Lendeborg, either. As they attempt to play more five-out basketball, they need the rookie to hit his threes consistently, too.
Score: Warriors 51 , Lakers 44 | 8:15 remaining in the second quarter
The scoreboard is an indictment of the efficacy, but the Lakers weren't kidding when they entered training camp claiming to they wanted to ratchet up the defensive pressure.
L.A. still has some work to do on the less-glamorous end. Granted, it'd help if the Warriors weren't molten from three. But still.
Score: Warriors 45 , Lakers 31 | End of the first quarter
The lesson? Golden State is not the Kings.
This is Cameron Carr's second banked-in three of the preseason. How many does he need to hit before we assume he's doing this on purpose?
YOU GUYS: I'm starting to think this Steph Curry guy might be pretty good and valuable and important to winning basketball games.
Hot take: This Warriors team would be a problem if the NBA switched to six-minute quarters and forced all of Golden State's opponents to sit their three best players.
More seriously, the Dubs are looking frisky. They have a 14-2 edge on points in the paint and 7-0 chokehold on transition scoring.
Score: Warriors 31 , Lakers 15 | 5:02 remaining in the first quarter
This particular shot wouldn't be available if Walker Kessler were on the floor. But Yaxel Lendeborg is doing a nice job taking it to the rack and playing through some contract early on.
Podz has no respect for LeBron James' progeny. SMH.
It took JJ Redick all of 52 seconds to burn his first timeout. He clearly wasn't happy with the Lakers' ball control and possession management to start the game.
Score: Warriors 4 , Lakers 0 | 11:08 remaining in the first quarter
Cherish this moment, folks. Who knows how many more Bron(ny) vs. Steph showdowns we're going to get.
Just some food for thought here as we settle into watch a Lakers-Warriors preseason game that won't feature Luka Dončić on the second end of a back-to-back. And while knowing Golden State's vets won't be traveling for the team's game tomorrow in Portland.
Watching Steph never miss will never get old. Ever.
Kevon Looney jumped center for the Lakers against the Kings. Sandro Mamukelashvili is getting the nod tonight.
Somewhat ironically, the Lakers' best shooter on the floor is now probably, with all due respect to Quentin Grimes, their center.
Game really does recognize game. Who knew?
If you were hoping to see encouraging Kristaps Porziņģis news, my recommendation is to keep scrolling. Yikes.
Dubs fans should pay attention to this one. Kristaps Porziņģis is sidelined with an undisclosed health issue and Al Horford is collecting social security, so a lineup of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendborg and Draymond Green could be a starting-five staple.
Luka Dončić played against Sacramento last night, so this isn't surprising. But here's a hoop idea, NBA: No back-to-backs in preseason.
.jpg?w=2560 "Report: Colts WR Requests Trade")
