NBA: Warriors thump Lakers to begin title defense
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after he made a three-point basket and he was fouled by the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center on October 18, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFPye
The Golden State Warriors responded to a fourth championship-ring ceremony in the last eight years with a performance they hope will lead to a fifth in nine, riding Stephen Curry’s game-high 33 points to a 123-109 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Opening Night in the NBA on Tuesday.
Andrew Wiggins chipped in with 20 points and Klay Thompson had 18 as the Warriors, who opened their championship season a year ago with a road win over the Lakers, gradually pulled away over the final three quarters.
LeBron James went for a team-high 31 points, Anthony Davis finished with 27 and Russell Westbrook tallied 19 for the Lakers, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a sixth straight loss on Opening Night.
Held to 25 points in the first quarter, the Warriors poured in 34, 32 and 32 over the final three periods, shooting 45.5 overall while outscoring the Lakers 48-30 on 3-pointers.
Curry bombed in four threes in 13 attempts and Wiggins nailed another four in six fewer tries, pacing a Golden State attack that saw seven different players nail 3-pointers.
Curry also found time for six rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Steph Curry put the finishing touches on ring night dropping 33 PTS to open the @warriors szn with a W! #KiaTipOff22
💦 33 PTS | 6 REB | 7 AST | 4 STL pic.twitter.com/s5YGWynBU6
— NBA (@NBA) October 19, 2022
Jordan Poole was a fourth Warrior in double figures with 12 points off the bench while also dishing out seven assists.
“The ceremony was an amazing celebration, to take time to reflect on what you accomplished, watching the banner go up, looking at the highlight tapes and all that,” Curry said afterwards.
“It’s really hard to turn the page and go and play a game of basketball, but we figured how to do it. Now we can look forward to the rest of the year.”
James, with 14 rebounds, and Westbrook, with 11 boards, completed double-doubles for the Lakers. James missed a triple-double by two assists, notching a game-high eight.
Kendrick Nunn added 13 points off the bench for the Lakers, who missed the 2022 playoffs after finishing the regular season with 20 fewer wins than Golden State.
FILE–LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers questions a call during the 1st half of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 18, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP
The Lakers shot just 10-for-40 on 3-pointers. James made three in 10 attempts.
LeBron said the Lakers were still a work in progress.
“We were what I expected -– some great moments, some not so great moments,” James said. “That comes from a team coming together for the first time.
“Once we start getting on the same page, it will get better with time. But it was kind of what I expected -– we had some good times, but some other times we weren’t as good as I’d like.”
After a sluggish start for both teams that could have been the result of the long ring ceremony, the Warriors finally got their offensive game in gear in the second quarter, running out to as many as a 14-point lead.
Curry (16) and Poole (10) combined for 26 points in the half, during which Golden State used 13 assists to help build a 59-52 lead.
Davis had 15 points, James posted 14 and Westbrook nabbed 11 in the half for the Lakers.
Golden State’s biggest lead in the game was 27. –Field Level Media/with reports from Agence France Presse
