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Lakers Nation > Blog > Gameday > Recap: Luka Doncic’s Heroic Effort Not Enough As Lakers Fall To Warriors In Season Opener
Gameday

Recap: Luka Doncic’s Heroic Effort Not Enough As Lakers Fall To Warriors In Season Opener

Daniel Starkand
Published: 10/21/2025
4 Min Read
Luka Doncic, Lakers, Warriors
Oct 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives past Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (1) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images
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The 2025-26 NBA season kicked off on Tuesday night with the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, fans were robbed of another classic LeBron James matchup with Stephen Curry as the former was ruled out of Opening Night for the first time in his 23-year career as he deals with sciatica on his right side.

There was still plenty of star power on the floor though with Curry, Jimmy Butler, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves all suiting up. Ultimately, it was the Warriors that came out on top with a 119-109 victory. This marked the Lakers’ ninth Opening Night loss in the last 10 years.

Of course the first bucket of the Lakers’ season was by Doncic. With the Lakers trailing 7-4, Doncic connected on his first triple, although Curry immediately responded with one of his own.

The Warriors started a small lineup, so the Lakers made it a point to feed Deandre Ayton inside for a pair of easy buckets. L.A. had some careless turnovers early allowing Golden State to build an eight-point lead, although Reaves led a run towards the end of first quarter before Butler was fouled on a 3-point attempt to give his team a 28-22 lead.

Things got a little chippy early in the second quarter with Draymond Green and Jarred Vanderbilt exchanging pushes, leading to the latter picking up a technical. Marcus Smart then got tangled up with Curry and was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. That gave the Warriors some momentum as Curry hit a deep 3 to extend their lead to double digits for the first time.

Similar to the first quarter though, the Lakers closed the half strong. Doncic continued to score with ease and then found Rui Hachimura for back-to-back triples. The Warriors were living at the free throw line, but their lead was cut to 55-54 at the half.

The third quarter was a struggle for the Lakers in the preseason and that continued in this one as the Warriors began the second half on an 18-4 run.

Doncic continued his hot shooting night, but L.A. could not get any stops with Golden State catching fire from deep. The Warriors outscored the Lakers 35-25 in the third quarter to take a 90-79 lead into the fourth.

With Curry on the bench, Butler continued to punish the smaller Lakers lineup while Buddy Hield was making it rain.

The Lakers tried to make one last run as back-to-back buckets by Ayton and Reaves cut their deficit to just six with four minutes to play.

After a Warriors timeout though, Green made a rare corner triple to end the run. The Lakers ran out of gas from there as Golden State closed it out with ease.

Despite the losing effort, Doncic was incredible in his first Lakers Opening Night, finishing with 43 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.

What’s next for the Lakers

The Lakers will return to the court on Friday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, which is their first chance at revenge on the team that eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season.

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TAGGED:Golden State WarriorsLos Angeles Lakers
ByDaniel Starkand
Daniel Starkand is a graduate from Chapman University with a degree in journalism and broadcast journalism. He grew up in Burbank, Calif. and played baseball at Burbank High and his first two years at Chapman. Along with serving as the managing editor for LakersNation.com, Daniel also serves as a senior writer, editor and social media manager for DodgerBlue.com Contact: daniel@mediumlargela.com
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