Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Live NBA Updates, Scores and Highlights

Fortunately for the Warriors, it could be worse. They could be the Suns.

Don't worry, Steph. The front office is going to trade for Myles Turner four years too late and everything's going to be fine!

To the extent that JJ Redick's gut can be trusted, this is good news.

Jake LaRavia played well in almost 18 minutes for the Lakers. He hit two of his three triples, put in a wild finish off a cross-court Luka pass and was an active participant in a defense that forced turnovers on 28.8 percent of the Warriors' offensive possessions in the second and third quarters.

Losing him for an extended period of time isn't anywhere near a death knell, but it'd be highly inconvenient with Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero already banged up.

This has to be the quickest a rookie has ever become an arch nemesis of a top-five NBA player, right?

That Dubs-Lakers game on Oct. 30 can't get here soon enough.

Draymond and Yaxel being on the same team might end up being a problem—for opponents, for the Dubs, for the children Luke Kornet wants to protect from hearing profanity, for everyone.

Yaxel Lendeborg can go ahead and add "overly confident" to his list of Luka Dončić gripes.

This kid has some brass ones. The next time Yaxel and Luka square off should be fun, chippy and, potentially, a little violent.

Speaking of which: Golden State hosts L.A. at Chase Center on Oct. 30. Plan your Halloween's Eve accordingly.

Not going to lie, "10 dunks" still looks like a friggin' typo.

Well played, Mr. Kessler.

Granted, most of his buckets came in the half-court. To his point, though, he wasn't always just chilling in the dunker's spot or lollygagging his way to the basket off screens.

Kessler hustled in the lane, got up for lobs and, yes, ran the floor in transition. A couple of his 12 buckets were also tough finishes to boot.

Now we wait and see what Luka has to say about the big fella when he actually misses a shot.

For anyone worried about Luka's 2028-29 player option that technically leaves him on an expiring contract after this season, this should placate your concern.

Though, to be fair, it'd be the mother of all indictments against the Lakers if Dončić intimated a desire to leave after he and his teammates just daddy'd the ghost of the Warriors.

To be sure, Kerr didn't blame the Warriors' loss on the Yaxel getting the rookie treatment.

On the contrary, he actually seemed pretty grossed out by Golden State's third quarter more than anything:

The Warriors will have a chance to redeem themselves on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

I will pay obscene amounts of I.O.U. cryptocurrency to anyone who can procure the hot mics for this exchange. The world needs to know what Yaxel said.

At long last, the second half that wouldn't end is officially over. The Lakers annihilated the Warriors after the first quarter, outscoring them by a total of 33 points in the second and third frames combined.

L.A. can feel good coming out of this one. Walker Kessler won't always make every shot, but their defensive aggression and depth shined.

The Warriors, on the other hand, have some existential questions to ask themselves. Chief among them: Just what the hell are they doing here?

FINAL SCORE: Lakers 127, Warriors 105

Sure, this take from The Athletic's Nick Friedell is one way to look at it. But who's to say Steve Kerr wasn't forcing his players to mull over the giant goose egg they just laid a little bit longer by prolonging the game?

Lots of basketball is left to play. This season. Not in this game. This game is over.

Anyway, we shouldn't rush to judgment after a single win. At the very least, though, we can say the trio of Luka, Reaves and Kessler has a chance to be special—if not dominant. The synergy between them is already off the charts, and there's still 81 games left to play.

Score: Lakers 120, Warriors 96 | 3:05 remaining in the fourth quarter

Even with most of these looks coming as dunks, this is just ridiculous.

Elsewhere, Jake LaRavia badly rolled his ankle and didn't immediately get off the floor. The Lakers have subbed him out of the game.

Score: Lakers 116, Warriors 83 |5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter

JJ Redick has now emptied his bench.

So much for shortening that rotation, right?

No word yet on whether Steve Kerr will allow Draymond Green to leave the bench and set up his podcast equipment in the locker room.

The Warriors also sorta stink. But the Lakers' bench does run deeper than last season, when the reserves ranked 14th in point differential per 100 possessions.

From being able to move Sandro Mamukelashvili to the center spot to bringing Quentin Grimes off the pine to take on more ball-handling when Collin Sexton is unavailable, this roster just has more optionality.

That doesn't mean every game will be like this. But it's a pretty good harbinger for surviving the season.

Score: Lakers 111, Warriors 83 | 11:00 remaining in the fourth quarter

In addition to the pain Walker Kessler is inflicting around the basket, the Lakers as a team are shooting 27-of-32 on shots within five feet of the hoop. That's a tidy 84 percent clip.

Score: Lakers 102, Warriors 70 | 11:27 remaining in the fourth quarter

On top of forcing the Warriors into 14 total turnovers, the Lakers have seven pick-sixes that they've turned into 19 points. Head coach JJ Redick was serious when he said this team would get after it on the less-glamorous end.

We'd nevertheless be remiss if we declared this Los Angeles' new normal. The Warriors a caricature of a basketball team right now. We need to see how the Lakers' defense holds up against a roster with actual hope for this season.

Ten dunks. Eleven made field goals.

100 percent shooting.

So, um, maybe the Lakers actually underpaid for Walker Kessler?

Score: Lakers 87, Warriors 61 | 4:45 remaining in the third quarter

For those keeping score at home:

Score: Lakers 78, Warriors 57 | 8:03 remaining in the third quarter

Somebody needs to check on Steve Kerr as we start the third quarter.

The rookie has the entire Lakers bench giving him crap. I'm actually dying.

What a way to make your NBA regular-season debut.

Suffice it to say, the folks at Crypto.com Arena don't seem to be missing LeBron very much.

Dončić is showing no mercy to the Dubs' rookie. At all.

Luka is up to 23 points, six rebounds and four assists on the evening. Walker Kessler still hasn't missed. The Lakers' defense held Golden state to just 19 points in the second quarter.

Warriors not named Stephen Curry are shooting 13-of-35 from the floor. Golden State has also allowed the Lakers to shoot 84 percent (16-of-19) around the basket, according to Prime Stats.

Score: Lakers 66, Warriors 52 | HALFTIME

Walker Kessler is up to 6-of-6 shooting from the floor. It turns out playing with Luka Dončić is good.

Somewhere, Daniel Gafford is sick.

Score: Lakers 63, Warriors 52 | 22.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter

Yaxel Lendeborg is defending Luka a bunch tonight, and Luka isn't taking it easy on him.

You have to love this energy if you're the Dubs. Heck, even Dončić seems to appreciate it.

In other news, the Lakers are on an 8-0 run and threatening to open the lead heading into halftime. The Warriors' transition and rim defense is suboptimal. Steve Kerr's body language is shimmying between apoplectic and total resignation.

Score: Lakers 58, Warriors 50 | 1:12 remaining in the second quarter

What a catch-and-finish by Jake LaRavia. He looks good to open the year—a lot more comfortable from beyond the arc, too.

Luka owes him dinner for turning this into an assist, by the way.

Score: Lakers 53, Warriors 48 | 2:28 remaining in the second quarter

Golden State is getting rocked in transition right now. Three of the Dubs' five turnovers have turned into pick-sixes.

Steve Kerr isn't happy. While it's tough to blame him, he should take a good look at the roster. This might be a common occurrence all year.

Score: Lakers 45, Warriors 41 | 7:17 remaining in the second quarter

The Dubs wound up finishing minus-one without Curry in the first. But considering those lineups are headlined by the likes of Brandon Williams, Gui Santos, Al Horford, Will Richard and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, they'll surely take it.

Score: Lakers 34, Warriors 33 | Start of the second quarter

And oh, what a quarter it was!

Steph already has 16 points. Luka tallied 13 to go along with three assists. We had 10 lead changes. And 10 ties. Both teams have offensive ratings north of 130. Brandon Williams got all the way to the basket in the half-court, something Golden State isn't used to seeing.

We could be in for some fireworks, folks.

Score: Lakers 34, Warriors 33 | End of the first quarter

Golden State subbed out Steph after he dropped 16 points in under eight minutes. He looks spry for someone who pulled up lame in an open practice and sent everyone into a social media tizzy just a few days ago.

Score: Warriors 27, Lakers 26 | 2:50 remaining in the first quarter

We've been watching stuff like this for almost 15 years. Anybody else feel old?

Score: Warriors 24, Lakers 24 | 3:40 remaining in the first quarter

We need a name for this Luka Dončić-Walker Kessler connection. I have no good ideas. My bad idea: Luka SkyWalker.

Please send all your suggestions my way.

The first of many threes for Chef Curry.

Proof: He already has two on the evening.

Score: Warriors 13, Lakers 10 | 7:23 remaining in the first quarter

The Golden State Warriors' rookie is on the board—off an assist from Steph no less!

Relatedly, Steph, Luka Dončić, Yaxel Lendeborg and Walker Kessler all scored within the first 90 seconds. A social media admin's fever dream.

Score: Warriors 10, Lakers 10 | 7:41 remaining in the first quarter

Sometimes, I think Stephen Curry is AI.

I'm not sure whether Stephen Curry's circus shots are a better pregame tradition than LeBron James' chalk toss. I'm just glad we have both. Still.

We've got a little time to kill before opening tip, so let's go here. The answer is the Milwaukee Bucks.

Trading Giannis Antetokounmpo has thrust them into a bigger-picture focus. And since they don't control their own first-round pick again until 2030, they needn't be overly focused on rostering players who will actually, you know, play.

Landing Porziņģis is also a way for the Bucks to offload the three years and $81.6 million left on Myles Turner's deal. The trade:

Sending Turner out in exchange for KP and Moody works financially and gives the Bucks more palatable numbers with which to work. Porziņģis is guaranteed just $3 million in 2027-28 while Moody, including this season, has two years and $25.9 million left on his contract.

Whether the Warriors bite is a separate matter. Having Turner on the books for next season torpedoes their cap-space plans. But star players don't leave in free agency anymore.

If Golden State is holding out hope for Nikola Jokić (player option), Giannis Antetokounmpo (player option), Karl-Anthony Towns (player option) or someone, it'll have to strike a trade anyway. Turner's salary would prove to be valuable matching fodder in those scenarios. In the interim, he provides the Warriors with a floor-spacer and rim protector at the 5 who they can sell to the fanbase as (feeble) proof that they're not letting what's left of Stephen Curry go out sadly.

Stephen Curry, Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green always figured to be in the starting five. De'Anthony Melton and Gui Santos are getting the nod as a direct result of the absences of Brandin Podziemski and Kristaps Porziņģis.

My guess is Melton will head back to the bench once Podz returns. With that said, Santos may join him if Steve Kerr thinks it's wiser to start Al Horford—something he probably can't even think about until Charles Bassey (knee) is back or the Dubs trade for another big.

For the Lakers, this is about as expected. Quentin Grimes profiles as a starter over Matisse Thybulle moving forward, but Collin Sexton's absence leaves a backcourt void on the bench.

It isn't only the Warriors dealing with a bunch of absences on Wednesday night. The Lakers will be without rookie Cameron Carr (oblique), Adou Thiero (knee) and Collin Sexton (calf). At least two of those three are expected to be rotation regulars, which is why JJ Redick already seems to be tightening the belt.

This should have the biggest impact on the wing and guard ranks. With Sexton out in particular, it feels like Austin Reaves or Luka Dončić will end up hitting the 40-minute threshold—provided we're not headed for a blowout.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported earlier today that the Golden State Warriors are exploring trades for Kristaps Porziņģis, who is apparently considering walking away from basketball as he deals with lingering effects from his postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Shortly thereafter, The Athletic's Sam Amick and Nick Friedell confirmed that the Dubs have held discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks about a potential deal.

Porziņģis is making $20 million this year and is guaranteed just $3 million next season, making him a quasi-expiring contract. It isn't clear what Golden State wants in return, or how aggressively it's willing to sweeten a package knowing that Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody won't be playing anytime soon.

This whole situation is ridiculous—right down to the Warriors seemingly having little knowledge on the state of Porziņģis' health.