Stephen Curry bombed in 31 points, the Golden State bench chipped in with 50 more and the Warriors exacted a measure of revenge from an opening-night loss with a 112-95 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers in each team’s NBA Cup opener on Friday in San Francisco.
Coming off a 44-point explosion in a win at Minnesota, Curry buried eight of his 14 attempts from beyond the arc as the Warriors were able to overcome a 25-point deficit and a 37-point performance by Luka Doncic.
After a crazy first half in which each team won a quarter 38-15, the Warriors trailed 72-63 just past the midpoint of the third period before dominating the next 10 minutes.
A 33-8 Golden State flurry began with a 22-8 burst to finish the third quarter, with reserves Brandon Williams, Charles Bassey and De’Anthony Melton contributing 13 of the points.
Up 85-80 at the quarter break, the Warriors picked up right where they left off, scoring the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to go up by 17. Brandin Podziemski opened the period with 2- and 3-point shots and Curry had the other six points in the spurt.
The Lakers, who had beaten the Warriors 127-105 at home on Oct. 21, got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
The season-high eight 3-pointers from Curry helped the Warriors outscore the visitors 66-33 from deep. The two-time MVP also found time for six assists.
Podziemski finished with four 3-pointers and 21 points, while Melton (16 points) and George Niang (11) made key contributions off the bench as the Warriors won their third straight game after going 0-3 to start the season.
Golden State prevailed despite an off night from star rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, who had six points, five turnovers and six fouls. Draymond Green logged nine assists and three steals in the win.
Doncic, whose 21 first-quarter points ignited the Lakers’ fast start, connected on six 3-pointers en route to his game-high point total. He also racked up seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Austin Reeves added 21 points and fellow starters Jake LaRavia, Walker Kessler and Matisse Thybulle had 10 points apiece for Los Angeles, which got a total of just seven points from its bench. Kessler was the game’s leading rebounder with 13.
The Lakers hurt their own cause with 22 turnovers. Reeves gave the ball away eight times.
–Field Level Media
