After dropping their preseason opener against the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers were back in action on Sunday night as they hit the road to take on the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
As was the case in the first game, the Lakers were shorthanded in this one with LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves among the key players that didn’t suit up. Meanwhile, the Warriors played their starters for a majority of the first half and were able to cruise to a 111-103 victory.
This was the Warriors’ first preseason game so they naturally came out a little flat. Even though the Lakers were shorthanded, they were in more of a rhythm to jump out to a 7-2 lead. After scoring just two points on Friday night, Deandre Ayton made his first two shots in this one and then Gabe Vincent buried his first triple in his 2025 preseason debut.
Jarred Vanderbilt was everywhere defensively early, creating turnovers for the Lakers. He then got involved offensively with a three-point play on a cut and feed from Vincent.
Stephen Curry responded with a crafty layup though and then Jimmy Butler had a three-point play to settle the Warriors in. Curry got going offensively from there against the Lakers bench as the Warriors took a 32-31 lead at the end of the first. L.A. ended the quarter on a run, capped off by a Vincent buzzer-beater, to get within one.
Vincent stayed hot to begin the second with a pair of triples to regain the lead. Ayton and Vanderbilt continued their high-level two-way play while Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht contributed offensively.
It was the Warriors that ended the half strong, however, taking a 62-55 lead into the locker room.
Golden State continued that momentum into the third quarter with Moses Moody getting hot from deep to lead a 12-2 run and force a timeout by JJ Redick.
While the Warriors stayed hot, the Lakers’ effort level was low for the second straight game as they got ran out of the gym. Golden State built a lead as high 24 in the third quarter, and then the two-way and Exhibit 10 players finished out the night for both teams.
To their credit, the Lakers players kept fighting and chipped away at their deficit in the fourth quarter and eventually got it down to single digits before eventually suffering the defeat.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers played a pair of preseason games after just three training camp practices. They now will have some time to assess what they saw and get back on the practice court though as their next preseason game isn’t until next Sunday, again taking on the Warriors but this time back in L.A. at Crypto.com Arena.
Judging by how the first two games went, they certainly can use some time on the practice court.
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