SAN FRANCISCO — The Chase Center’s chants were resounding, echoing through the lower bowl of fans on Friday night after rookie Yaxel Lendeborg forced Luka Doncic to miss his first shot of the night from 3-point range – as if the season opener against the Lakers wasn’t proof enough to not poke the bear.
“LUKA SUCKS,” the crowd, loudly bellowed as the Golden State Warriors’ faithful voiced their displeasure for the Lakers star, standing behind Lendeborg, who picked a verbal battle with the league’s leading scorer last Wednesday and made sure to tell reporters after that game how he lost respect for the six-time All-NBA first-team honoree.
The noise – which Lakers coach JJ Redick and Warriors coach Steve Kerr were asked about multiple times before the rematch – didn’t seem to faze Doncic, who recorded 37 points on 12-for-27 shooting (going 6 for 16 from 3-point range) to lead all scorers on Friday night. But the rest of the Lakers (4-2) left plenty to be desired in a 112-95 defeat in an NBA Cup Group C opener, where outside of their Slovenian star’s efforts, the end result screamed disarray.
Twenty-two turnovers from the Lakers led to 27 points for the Warriors (3-3), who outscored the visitors by 40 points over the final three quarters. Reactions of frustration from Doncic and wing Matisse Thybulle during the second half resulted in technical fouls from Friday’s officiating crew, heralded by crew chief Tony Brothers.
After an enlightened response Wednesday that showcased defensive tenor and offensive efficiency against the Clippers, Friday was the opposite.
The Lakers led by as many as 25 points midway through the first half, as Doncic decimated the first quarter with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, but San Francisco never got quite as sunny as it was to begin the game. The Warriors put up identical shooting statistics – 14 field goals and eight 3-pointers – during a second quarter in which they duplicated the Lakers’ 38-15 scoring advantage from the first to knot the game at 53 at halftime.
Trailing by nine points midway through the third quarter, Warriors star guard Steph Curry dropped Doncic to the floor with an ankle-breaking dribble move, then sinking a 3-pointer over the Slovenian star to cut the margin to 69-63. And the chants, the crowd’s two-word soliloquy, began again.
Curry hunted Doncic throughout the game on his way to 31 points for the Warriors, making eight of his 14 shots from behind the arc to go with six assists. He propelled the Warriors to an 85-80 lead by the end of the quarter, using a 7-0 run in the final two minutes of the third to creep ahead of the Lakers.
It didn’t matter what Lendeborg did Friday, fouling out with 2:45 remaining in the game after scoring just six points on 2-for-3 shooting. Curry, at 38, still scores at will.
Golden State finished a sizzling 22 for 46 from 3-point range and led by as many as 17 points, while the Lakers could only muster seven points from their bench unit (the Warriors got 50 points from their reserves). Outside of Doncic and Austin Reaves (21 points on 9-for-19 shooting, to go with eight turnovers), the Lakers connected on just 33.3% of their looks from the field – and made just 28% of their 39 3-point looks combined by the game’s end.
Brandin Podziemski added 21 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Warriors, while De’Anthony Melton scored 16 off the bench and fellow reserve Georges Niang added 11.
It was the largest margin of victory in the shot clock era for a team that trailed by 20 or more points at end of the first quarter. On March 4, 1976, the Warriors trailed the Bulls 41-18 after one quarter and won by 14 (124-110) – the previous best.
More to come on this story.