Lakers Beat Warriors 127-105 in Season Opener: Doncic Scores 28, Kessler Perfect 12-for-12 With 10 Dunks
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 127-105 in their regular-season opener at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night, October 21. The Lakers outscored the Warriors 68-35 across the second and third quarters — 32-19 and 36-16 after a 34-33 first quarter — and led 102-68 entering the fourth, which Golden State won 37-25.
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 28 points on 7-of-18 shooting with five three-pointers, adding eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in about 30 minutes. His half-court buzzer-beater capped the second quarter and sent the Lakers into halftime up 66-52. Austin Reaves added 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting, going 10-for-10 at the line, with six assists and four rebounds.
Center Walker Kessler dominated on his Lakers debut: 26 points on a perfect 12-of-12 shooting, nine rebounds, two blocks, and 10 dunks. According to the New York Post, citing ESPN, the 10 dunks were the most by a Laker since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003 and the most by any player in the league's play-by-play era (since 1996-97); Kessler also joined Wilt Chamberlain — 34 points on 14-of-14 shooting on March 11, 1969 — as the only players in franchise history with a perfect shooting night on at least 12 attempts. Kessler arrived from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade and signed a four-year, $130 million deal, according to Bleacher Report, which noted that six of the Lakers' nine rotation players were new, in the team's first game since LeBron James left in free agency for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 23 points, 16 of them in the first quarter; according to Warriors on SI, he did not make a field goal after the first quarter. Golden State shot 37-for-91 (41%) from the field and 8-for-36 (22%) from three, and committed 16 turnovers leading to 25 Lakers points. Center Kristaps Porzingis was out indefinitely with a health issue.
Before the game, Doncic took out a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times telling fans: "Tonight we start our run for a championship." Both teams play again on October 23: the Lakers host the LA Clippers, and the Warriors host the Memphis Grizzlies.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Benoît Prieur · CC0
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- 2026-10-21Lakers Beat Warriors 127-105 in Season Opener: Doncic Scores 28, Kessler Perfect 12-for-12 With 10 DunksThis story
