Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Golden State Warriors emphatically signalled their intentions for the new NBA season on Tuesday, romping past Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers 119-109 in a clash of Western Conference rivals. Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Stephen Curry added 23, and the Warriors broke open a close game with an 18-4 run to start the third quarter and never looked back. Golden State withstood a 43-point performance from Doncic. The Slovenian star, acquired in a blockbuster trade last February, added 12 rebounds and nine assists. It wasn’t enough, and Lakers superstar LeBron James could only watch from the sideline.
James, entering an unprecedented 23rd season, was sidelined for the first opening night of his career as he deals with sciatica. “It’s always different when he’s not there,” Warriors veteran Draymond Green said. “Obviously we’ve had battles with Luka. Luka is an incredible player, but Bron is Bron.” The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, chasing a fifth title, likely won’t be available before November, and after Tuesday’s performance, it looked as if the four-time champion’s season debut can’t come too soon for the Lakers.
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Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Butler’s performance — which included a perfect 16 for 16 from the free throw line — was key, and just what the Warriors were looking for when they acquired him last February. “He really complements Steph and Draymond as well,” Kerr said. “Not only the free throws but the ball security. We’ve been a high turnover team for a long time. We need his ability to settle down. And when you get to the line like that, it puts a ton of pressure on your opponent.”
The Warriors emerged from a tight first quarter with a 28-22 lead. Butler led the way with 12 points. Green was slapped with his first technical foul of the season midway through the first quarter for chirping at officials from the bench. Curry scored just three points in the first quarter but came up with three steals as the Lakers turned the ball over nine times. The Warriors had pushed their lead to as many as 10 points in the third, but the Lakers clawed back, taking a one-point lead after a pair of three-pointers from Rui Hachimura to energize the Crypto.com Arena crowd.
They went up 54-53 on a three-pointer by Doncic before Butler closed the first half with a pair of free-throws to make it 55-54 Warriors at the break, and Golden State had all the answers in the second half. “It’s good to get a win to start the season,” Green said, but added that with a long campaign stretching ahead, “it don’t really mean much. We were fighting upstream most of last year and we don’t want to do that this year. So it’s important to get off to a good start.”
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