Luka Doncic & Lakers Dominate Warriors On Opening Night

A new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball kicked off on Wednesday night when they hosted the Golden State Warriors in the 2026-27 regular season opener at Crypto.com Arena.

And if the first game was any indication, it should be a fun season ahead for the Lakers.

Lakers 127, Warriors 105: key takeaways from regular season opener

Key players out

Both teams were missing key players in this one as Collin Sexton (right soleus strain), Adou Thiero (left knee effusion) and Cameron Carr (right oblique strain) were out for the Lakers while Brandin Podziemski (back), Charles Bassey (knee), Jimmy Butler (knee), Moses Moody (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (not with team) sat out for the Warriors.

Luka Doncic and Walker Kessler flash chemistry early

The Lakers’ big offseason acquisition was center Walker Kessler, and he flashed his chemistry with Luka Doncic early as the superstar found the big man for three lobs. That got L.A. off to a nice start, although they also had trouble containing Stephen Curry so Golden State was able to hang close.

Doncic eventually got going offensively with 13 points in the first quarter. Curry had 16 of his own, as neither team played much defense and the game stayed close through one.

Lakers lock in defensively to build lead

After giving up 33 points in the first quarter, mainly due to Curry getting hot, the Lakers were much more locked in defensively in the second.

On the other end, Doncic continued his strong first half while Kessler had a couple more dunks, extending the Lakers’ lead to double digits at the half, 66-52. Doncic put an exclamation mark on the half by banking one in from half court to beat the buzzer.

Luka Doncic welcomes Yaxel Lendeborg to NBA

When the Lakers played the Warriors in the preseason, Yaxel Lendeborg revealed that he was told he would be guarding Doncic, something he openly wasn’t excited about. Doncic didn’t end playing that night, but Lendeborg got his chance in this one and things went as expected.

Lendeborg was doing a lot of talking in the second and third quarter, and Doncic is perhaps the one person in the NBA you can’t do that to. The Lakers star had not problem scoring at will as the purple and gold continued building their lead. At the end of a dominant third quarter, the Lakers led 102-68 and were able to cruise to the easy victory.

Doncic did not need to play the fourth quarter, finishing with 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, Kessler was perfect in his Lakers debut, scoring 26 points on 12-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks.

What’s next for the Lakers

The Lakers will be back in action on Friday night when they host the L.A. Clippers at Crypto.com Arena before hitting the road for the first time for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Utah Jazz.