Warriors beat Lakers 112-95 on Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco, turning a 25-point deficit into a 17-point win in each team’s NBA Cup opener. Stephen Curry scored 31 points for Golden State, while Luka Doncic led all scorers with 37 in a losing effort for Los Angeles.
The result was also revenge of a sort. The Lakers had beaten the Warriors 127-105 in the season opener on October 21. On Friday, Golden State answered with its third straight win after an 0-3 start, improving to 3-3. The Lakers fell to 4-2, and the game counted toward both the NBA Cup group standings in West Group C and the regular-season standings.
How the Warriors beat Lakers 112-95
The opening quarter gave no hint of what was coming. Doncic scored 21 points in the first 12 minutes, hitting five three-pointers, as Los Angeles raced to a 38-15 lead. Early in the second quarter, the Lakers stretched that advantage to 25 points, at 40-15.
Golden State then produced an exact mirror image. The Warriors won the second quarter 38-15, tying the game at 53-53 by halftime. That made Golden State the first team in the shot-clock era to trail by at least 23 points at the end of the first quarter and be tied or ahead at halftime.
Los Angeles regrouped after the break and rebuilt a nine-point lead, 72-63, midway through the third quarter. The Warriors responded with a 33-8 run that carried through the end of the third and into the fourth, giving them an 85-80 lead at the quarter break and then the first 11 points of the final period. From there, the Lakers got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
One third-quarter moment summed up the shift in momentum. With about six minutes left in the period, Curry used a crossover to get Doncic off balance and knocked down a three-pointer over him, a play that quickly spread as the night’s signature highlight. Doncic answered with a three of his own on the next possession, but Golden State kept coming.
Curry, the bench, and a scoring milestone
Curry finished with 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting, including eight three-pointers, along with six assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes. The eight three-pointers were a season high, and they came two nights after his 44-point performance in a win at Minnesota. His fourth-quarter three-pointer also moved him past Dominique Wilkins into 18th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, at 26,674 career points. Wilkins finished with 26,668.
Brandin Podziemski added 21 points, six assists and five rebounds for Golden State, and the bench told much of the story of the second half. Golden State’s reserves outscored the Lakers’ reserves 50-7, with De’Anthony Melton scoring 16 points and Georges Niang adding 11. The Warriors also outscored Los Angeles 66-33 from three-point range. Draymond Green contributed nine assists and three steals.
For the Lakers, Doncic shot 12-of-27 from the field, including six three-pointers, and added seven rebounds and five assists. Austin Reaves scored 21 points. Beyond those two, however, Los Angeles struggled for consistent scoring, and the Lakers committed 22 turnovers. That combination — a short bench and giveaways at the wrong moments — allowed Golden State’s runs to keep building instead of stalling.
Analysis: depth won the second half
This was not simply a hot shooting night. Golden State won the second half 59-42 because it had more answers when the game turned. When Curry rested or drew extra attention, Podziemski, Melton and Niang kept the offense moving. When Los Angeles needed the same kind of lift, it largely did not arrive: seven bench points is a difficult number to overcome against a team that can score in waves.
For the Lakers, the concern is not Doncic. A 37-point night with 21 in the first quarter is the opposite of a problem. The concern is what happens when the opening script runs out. Once Golden State matched the Lakers’ first-quarter intensity, Los Angeles had no second punch, and the turnovers gave the Warriors extra possessions to turn a comeback into a comfortable win.
For the Warriors, the win matters beyond one night in October. Cup games are decided in part on point differential, and a 17-point win after trailing by 25 gives Golden State an early edge in West Group C. More importantly, it confirms that the 0-3 start is behind them. Three straight wins, built on Curry’s form and a bench that can change a game, is a different profile from the team that lost its first three.
What to watch next
Golden State will try to carry this momentum into its next Cup game, with the same formula at the center of it: Curry setting the tone, the bench providing a spark, and the defense turning stops into transition chances. The Lakers, meanwhile, need a steadier second unit and cleaner ball security before their next group game. Doncic can win a quarter on his own, as Friday’s first quarter showed. Winning a Cup group will take more than that.
For more from this week, see our preview of this Lakers-Warriors NBA Cup matchup, the 76ers’ 98-93 win over the Knicks in their Cup opener, and the Packers’ 27-19 Thursday night win over the Panthers.
