Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors Live NBA Updates, Scores and Highlights

The round two tussle between Yaxel Lendeborg and Luka Dončić never materialized. The basketball gods tossed the towel on that one at some point during a 21-point first quarter for Dončić (a scoreless frame for Lendeborg).

Unfortunately for Dončić, this wasn't a one-on-one battle with the fearless freshman. He and the Los Angeles Lakers were tussling with the entirety of the Golden State Warriors to open NBA Cup play, and the Warriors took this tilt in signature strength-in-numbers style.

While Stephen Curry supplied the most powerful punch with 31 points and eight three-pointers, it took a village to pull off this 112-95 win. And the village came through. Brandin Podziemski had 21 points, Draymond Green masterminded the defense and the bench built a colossal 50-7 advantage. The Warriors assisted on 31 of their 38 field goals and recovered from a sloppy start to win the turnover margin 15-20.

Dončić had 37 points, and Austin Reaves added 21 points, but they also had 11 turnovers and 15 missed threes between them. And they had zero offensive consistency from the players around them, with L.A. shooting a collective 33-of-82 overall (40.2 percent) and 11-of-39 from three (28.2 percent).

It was a wild win for the Warriors and a frustrating loss for the Lakers, and we were around to real-time document all of it.

Two elite scorers, two elite offensive showmen, and they left it all out on the court.

Warriors' Vets Coaching Up Yaxel Lendeborg

It was a rough night for the rookie—and a poorly timed one given how much attention was focused on him (and, it's worth noting, directed there by him)—but the Warriors know they'll need him to deliver.

So, much like Jimmy Butler did earlier in the contest, Draymond Green offered some words of wisdom afterward.

The Lakers looked lost once Luka took a breather in the second quarter, and they never found their way back. They can't play Dončić all 48 minutes and shouldn't need to given what they've invested in Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler, but they looked totally helpless without him. They won his 37 minutes by nine points—in a 17-point loss.

What a comeback. What a team effort. And what an absurd showing from Stephen Curry. The Lakers never could get Luka back in a groove after his 21-point opening quarter, nor find consistent scoring help around him.

There are fewer than three minutes left in regulation, and L.A.'s bench has five points. Five . Luka had a huge first quarter, but since it's been a few flashes from him and Austin Reaves, and then a lot of empty possessions.

Score: Warriors 105, Lakers 91 | 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter

Steph (not Yaxel) vs. Luka has been worth the price of admission. They have 68 points and 14 three-pointers between them, and their highlight reels for endless.

But Golden State's support guards, namely Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton, are the reason why the Warriors are a strong finish away from a big win.

Score: Warriors 104, Lakers 91 | 3:11 remaining in the fourth quarter

I'm starting to think Dončić may not be a Steph stopper.

History's greatest shooter is a historic offensive force.

Curry Climbing the All-Time Scoring Ladder

With a three-point splash—fittingly assisted by Draymond Green—Stephen Curry jumped in front of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins for the 18th spot on the career scoring leaderboard. What a player, what a career.

Score: Warriors 96, Lakers 80 | 8:02 remaining in the fourth quarter

Dončić clearly has crushed this matchup, but Lendeborg did put a promising sequence on tape at least.

With a no-show from new second option, Yaxel Lendeborg, Golden State has needed someone else to step up. It has found a lot of someones on the bench, but Brandin Podziemski started coming alive in the third quarter and is making momentum-building plays on both ends.

Score: Warriors 90, Lakers 80 | 9:38 remaining in the fourth quarter

And E-40's reaction. Does anyone even remember the first quarter anymore?

Luka could do no wrong in the first, and Curry had a highlight make for the ages, but Golden State's second unit (and L.A.'s lack thereof) has emerged as the biggest factor in this contest.

The Lakers had a chance to bury the Lakers early (and virtually did with a 38-15 first quarter), but they never did. And as if saluting all of the zombies out there this Halloween weekend, the Warriors have risen from the dead and then some.

Score: Warriors 85, Lakers 80 | End of the third quarter

Save for Steph doing Steph things, it's been a mostly quiet night for the Warriors' starters. But their reserves are clobbering their counterparts, helping Golden State go on momentum-building runs in the second and third quarter now.

Score: Warriors 84, Lakers 80 | 0:21 remaining in the third quarter

This happened right after Dončić got dropped. Shot-makers are shot-making tonight. What a game.

Score: Lakers 78, Warriors 78 | 1:48 remaining in the third quarter

Score: Lakers 74, Warriors 70 | 3:35 remaining in the third quarter

Luka defending Steph in space just isn't a fair fight. Ankles!

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is going through it, but he has some pretty great veterans to lean on.

After a red-alert start this half, Golden State sits everyone not named Stephen Curry or Draymond Green. The game is still well within reach, but an out-of-hand quarter could change that in a hurry.

Score: Lakers 69, Warriors 60 | 6:34 remaining in the third quarter

Is Steph Curry sticking up for his rookie here? Or just roasting a favorable matchup?

The Lakers used Luka magic to build a huge advantage in the first quarter, then struggled to get anything going without him in the second. Their 13-4 start to the third frame, though, is mostly a credit to "the others." Austin Reaves and Jake LaRavia netted 11 of those points.

Score: Lakers 66, Warriors 57 | 7:27 remaining in the third quarter

Golden State going with a bigger group to start this half. And, perhaps to the chagrin of those tuning in to catch Luka v. Lendeborg, using Draymond Green to defend Dončić instead.

Score: Lakers 59, Warriors 53 | 10:16 remaining in the third quarter

A Sequence So Nice It's Worth Seeing Twice

Steph's gravity is just a permanent source of clean looks for his teammates. And he knows how to leverage it with on-point deliveries like this.

It was a very quiet first half for Yaxel Lendeborg (two points, one shot, five turnovers, three fouls), but at least he and all of us know how E-40 pronounces his name now.

The Lakers should not have looked as lost as they did without Luka. The offense was entrusted to Austin Reaves—a max-contract player with near-star (or All-Star) numbers so far—and he just couldn't deliver. He had 10 first-half points on 10 first-half shots and managed just four assists against six turnovers.

Rapid second quarter summary: Golden State stopped turning it over and started making shots, and L.A. stopped playing Luka Dončić. The Lakers won Luka's 19 minutes by 12 points, which means they lost the five he didn't play by that margin.

Podz Put the Finishing Touch on the First Half

Non-Steph starter scoring has been hard to find for Golden State tonight—two points for Yaxel Lendeborg ( on one shot?! ), none for Draymond Green or Gui Santos—but this timely triple from Brandin Podziemski knotted up a game that felt like it got away in the first quarter.

Warriors reserves have 30 points; Lakers reserves have three. Golden State completely flipped this script, mirroring L.A.'s 38-15 edge in the first quarter with an identical 38-15 advantage of its own in the second. We. Are. Tied.

Score: Lakers 53, Warriors 53 | End of second quarter

Golden State is officially grooving, and we absolutely have a game again.

Score: Lakers 53, Warriors 50 | 0:53 remaining in the second quarter

OK, One More Note on That First-Frame Flurry from Luka

The Lakers wobbled quite a bit when Dončić sat, but he gave them such a huge cushion early, they're still holding onto a double-digit lead.

Score: Lakers 51, Warriors 37 | 4:03 remaining in the second quarter

The Warriors are clearly compromised for size, so they'll welcome this little energy lift from Charles Bassey.

A brilliant block by Charles Bassey and a loud finish to get Yaxel Lendeborg on the scoreboard.

A Surprise Undercard to Luka v. Lendeborg?

Things have gotten chippy, but this wasn't the Dončić vs. Lendeborg bout folks have been waiting to see.

Hopefully getting video of this soon, but this sequence proved Golden State has some paint presence of its own. L.A. continuing to let this lead dwindle without Dončić.

Score: Lakers 44, Warriors 33 | 6:40 remaining in the second quarter

Georges Niang has given Golden State a spark tonight, but this block by Walker Kessler was purely electric.

Melton's attacks and a big Steph splash have the Warriors cooking to start this quarter. Lakers might need to summon Dončić soon.

Warriors Will Take Offense Wherever They Can Get It

Golden State starters not named Stephen Curry have two points on seven shots. Warriors not named Curry, Georges Niang or De'Anthony Melton have three total points. Still, credit those last two in particular for providing enough timely scores to keep this from getting totally out of hand.

While the Warriors are working to make a push with Dončić on the sideline, let's just keep marveling at the damage he did before taking a breather.

Score: Lakers 40, Warriors 28 | 9:30 remaining in the second quarter

As incredible as Dončić looked in the first quarter, the Warriors were equally rough. Golden State's starters have eight points on 11 shots.

Did, uh, Yaxel Lendeborg just set up Luka Dončić for a career-high kind of night? It's obviously early, considering he's had a 73-piece before, but he is on pace after a blistering first quarter.

Lendeborg, on the other hand, has three turnovers, two fouls and zero points, assists, steals or blocks.

It's a true Halloween Eve nightmare for the Warriors. They're getting trounced, their prized rookie, Lendeborg, is getting pummeled: no shots, no assists, no seals, no blocks, three turnovers and a minus-21 in eight minutes. Dončić, meanwhile, appears in a dream state.

Score: Lakers 35, Warriors 15 | 1:07 remaining in the first quarter

Hey, It Hasn't Been a Total Loss for Warriors Fans

Pretty brutal stuff all around for the Warriors. Make it nine turnovers and five field goals for Golden State. Yikes.

Score: Lakers 34, Warriors 15 | 1:23 remaining in the first quarter

I mean, a lot of them wind up "those nights," but Dončić looks totally unbothered by any defender around him. He has 14 points, four assists, two steals and a block in nine minutes of work.

Look, Luka can work his magic against anyone, but he seems a little extra revved for this one. Lendeborg and the Warriors better find a counter-punch pretty soon, or this could be over early.

Score: Lakers 28, Warriors 14 | 3:01 remaining in the first quarter

Luka Started His Night With a 3 Over Lendeborg

The Lakers are getting the better of the Warriors, and Dončić is making it obvious he heard every one of Lendeborg's sound bites.

It's been a very disjointed start for the Dubs offense, which has more turnovers (six) than assists (five) and a brutal connection rate on twos (1-of-6). But any time Stephen Curry shreds a night, it gets you a real "Anything is possible!" vibe.

Score: Lakers 25, Warriors 14 | 4:38 remaining in the first quarter

Objectively speaking, the Lakers overpaid for Walker Kessler this summer. But you can see why they—and seemingly Luka—deemed him a necessity.

Dončić can make the trash talk pretty simple so far: Scoreboard!

Score: Lakers 19, Warriors 11 | 7:07 remaining in the first quarter

For all of the attention on Lendeborg's ability to contain Luka, it's still not clear how Golden State plans to handle Kessler. He's picking up right where he left off with a 2-of-2 start, finishing both a soft jumper and a spoon-fed chance created by Dončić.

A lot of makes for the Lakers, a lot of sloppy giveaways for the Warriors.

Score: Lakers 12, Warriors 2 | 9:42 remaining in the first quarter

When the Warriors aren't running offense for Stephen Curry, they're finding it for their freshman. What an absurd acceleration up the pecking order.

The way tonight is going, it seems like folks are bringing their best for the start of NBA Cup play.

Curry is coming into this contest fresh off a 44-point, six-triple outburst. He went a perfect 16-of-16 from the line in that one.

Oh, and in the game before that, he didn't miss a shot from anywhere—8-of-8 from the field, 3-of-3 from range and 5-of-5 at the stripe. History's greatest shooter is very much feeling it.

Jake LaRavia Gets Second Straight Start for the Lakers

Just like Wednesday night (a 16-point win over the Los Angeles Clippers), the Lakers are plugging LaRavia into the starting spot vacated by the injured Ziaire Williams. That could be an offensive upgrade, though it doesn't automatically look that way with how Williams has shot it this season (46.7 percent).

Defensively, though, the Lakers use some athleticism and versatility.

The Warriors have used this lineup, which features only one player standing above 6'7" (the 6'9" Lendeborg), once this season. And it was their best performance by far—a 20-point takedown of Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets.

It still feels a little worrisome given how much trouble Golden State had with Walker Kessler in the opener, but if this lineup can handle Jokić (19 points on 18 shots in that game), maybe it's ready for a second crack at this test.

Whatever Happens Tonight (and in the Future), Expect To Hear Yaxel Lendeborg's Thoughts on It

Lendeborg's unfiltered thoughts have upped the early entertainment factor of this season's start. And it sounds like they'll be around for a while now.

As they should be. Mostly. Look, coaches probably aren't huge fans of their players providing bulletin-board material for opponents, but these are professionals. They don't need someone else to set their edge. Besides, who uses bulletin boards anymore?

L.A. had no problem corralling Golden State's offense on opening night, but the Warriors are coming in hot after hanging 119-plus points on their past three opponents.

This could be a different kind of defensive challenge, and L.A. will have to tackle it minues one of its best defenders. That'll be two consecutive absences now for Ziaire Williams.

Think the Warriors know their rookie just might have a target on his back tonight? More likely they're preparing him as best they can for the defensive challenge of containing the current (and reigning) scoring leader and all of his on-ball trickery.

Yaxel Lendeborg Is Feeling the Halloween Spirit

What an entrance for the Warriors rookie tonight. A not-so-subtle message to Luke and friends? Almost certainly, yes. A strong play to be crowned king of the (one-man?) costume contest? An even more emphatic, Yes!