Night two looked nothing like night one. In Lakers vs Warriors on Tuesday at Chase Center, a Lakers group missing seven rotation players lost 124-98 to a Golden State team that played its starters. Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma all sat on the second night of the preseason back-to-back. The Lakers never led. Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 15, and Dalton Knecht had his best audition of camp off the bench.
Here is the verified recap, one night after our 127-103 win at Sacramento recap.
Lakers vs Warriors: How the Game Got Away
It started badly. Brandin Podziemski was fouled on a three on the first possession and completed a four-point play, and JJ Redick called timeout less than a minute in. Golden State won the first quarter 45-31 and the second 36-22 for an 81-53 halftime lead. Stephen Curry had 16 points in the first half on 3-of-6 from three, including his second four-point play of the night, and did not need to come back.
With the benches in, the Lakers won the third quarter 22-15. Golden State took the fourth 28-23. The Warriors’ biggest lead was 38.
The team numbers matched the score. Golden State shot 41-of-80 (51 percent) and 15-of-35 from three with 32 assists. The Lakers shot 33-of-83 (39.8 percent) and 13-of-37 from three with 20 assists. The Lakers still forced 23 turnovers and had 13 steals, but they committed 22 turnovers of their own.
Who Played and Who Sat
Redick had said before the back-to-back that “the guys that are out tonight may play tomorrow, but for the most part they’re all day-to-day.” In the end, the Lakers rested or held out most of their regulars:
- Luka Doncic: rest after 16 minutes in Sacramento. He still went through a pregame warmup, according to the California Post.
- Austin Reaves (ankle) and Walker Kessler (finger): both day-to-day after minor practice injuries.
- Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma: lower-body issues, also day-to-day.
- Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams: rest after starting on Monday.
The starters were Bronny James, Quentin Grimes, Adou Thiero, Jake LaRavia and Mamukelashvili. Golden State started Curry, Podziemski, Gui Santos, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green.
Lakers Performers
- Sandro Mamukelashvili: 15 points on 6-of-10, 3-of-4 from three, in 18 minutes as the starting center.
- Jaden Hardy: 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, though 4-of-12 from the field with five turnovers.
- Quentin Grimes: 12 points and three assists in 23 minutes, the only Monday starter who also started Tuesday.
- Dalton Knecht: 11 points (3-of-8, 4-of-4 FT) in 21:52, and the team’s only positive plus-minus (+3).
- Cole Swider: nine points in 12 minutes, 3-of-4 from three.
- Jake LaRavia: nine points and three steals.
- Bronny James: four points and five assists in his first preseason start.
Rookie Cameron Carr, who scored 19 in Sacramento, had five points in 12 minutes. Chris Mañon had seven points and two steals in 22 minutes, and two-way wing AK Okereke got 13 minutes after not appearing Monday.
For Golden State, Lendeborg led with 17 points and nine rebounds, Podziemski and Curry each scored 16, and Green had eight assists in under 15 minutes.
The Frontcourt Without Kessler
With Kessler out again, the Lakers’ bigs were stretched. Mamukelashvili started and gave the offense spacing, which is the case for his matchup-based role. Kevon Looney, who started Monday, came off the bench and played 13 minutes without a point but with three rebounds and two assists. Rookie William Kyle III played almost 10 minutes. Golden State’s size, led by Lendeborg on the glass and Charles Bassey’s three blocks, won the rebounding battle 44-35.
Adou Thiero had a highlight moment in the second quarter, finishing a dunk through contact for a three-point play, and added four rebounds. Jarred Vanderbilt had three steals in 15 minutes. Those are the kinds of minutes Redick is collecting for decisions on the back end of the rotation.
One note on context: the Warriors were on the first night of their own back-to-back, with a game at Portland on Wednesday, and still played their starters for most of the first half.
Knecht’s Night and the Roster Crunch
Knecht went scoreless in 12 minutes on Monday. On Tuesday he played almost 22 and looked like a player trying to win a job: aggressive, at the line four times and on the floor for the Lakers’ only positive stretch by plus-minus. It is one game in a blowout, so do not overread it. But in a 16-for-15 roster squeeze, minutes and production in the preseason are the only arguments he gets to make. Our Day 3 report covers the contract and roster math.
Hardy, another bubble name, had his own mixed case: 13 points with real activity, but five turnovers. Swider’s shooting is the reason he is in camp on an Exhibit 10 deal, and he showed it.
What the Back-to-Back Told Redick
Monday showed what the Lakers can look like when the full-court pressure has Thybulle, Williams and Grimes setting the tone. Tuesday showed what happens when most of that group sits and the other team plays its starters. The young players got the long look Redick wanted, and the pressure still produced 13 steals, but there was no one to stabilize the offense when Golden State went on early runs.
Nothing from Tuesday changes the big picture. Doncic, Reaves and Kessler remain the safe starters, and the two open spots are still being decided. The real test is Thursday, when the regulars should be back on a normal rest schedule.
Watch: Redick on Luka and Reaves
With both stars resting, here is Redick on how Doncic and Reaves own the mid-range, from Infanity TV:
What’s Next
The Lakers host the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m. PT, their first home game of the preseason. Watch for Reaves, Kessler and Sexton to come off the day-to-day list, and for whether Doncic plays a second preseason game. The Lakers then face Golden State again on October 13 in Las Vegas and close the preseason against Denver on October 16.
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