Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors were first on the board against rivals Los Angeles Lakers after winning on the road.
The Golden State Warriors derailed the bid of the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers, taking the convincing win in their NBA regular season opener, 119-109, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (Wednesday, Manila time).
A team effort spurred by Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry towed the Warriors on the road, even as Lakers superstar Luka Doncic carried the home team on his shoulders while LeBron James continues to miss LA’s opening games due to sciatica.
Butler had a team-high 31 points for the Warriors. Three other teammates were in double-digit scoring, with Curry leading the supporting cast because of his 23 markers.
Butler did a little bit of everything, also getting five rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Curry, for his part, was also a pest on defense with three steals. and a block. The guard also dished out four assists.
In contrast for the Lakers, two players were responsible for 69 of the Lakers’ total points. Apart from Doncic's 43-point explosion, Austin Reaves dropped 26 as the other bright spot.
Even more impressive is that the second-year Laker flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 12 rebounds and nine dimes. Despite his stat sheet stuffing, Doncic was a -8 in +/- as the rest of the Lakers were unable to make their presence felt.
The Lakers hardly led in the match while the Warriors were able to extend their advantage to as big as 17 points in the second half.
Golden State shot 42.5% from rainbow country while the Lakers only shot 25%.
The charity stripe also had a lot to do with the result, with LA shooting a meager 60.7% from the line, going 17-for-28.
Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.