Luka Doncic scored 43 points, just as advertised, but the Los Angeles Lakers still fell to the Golden State Warriors in the opening night, 109-119. Head coach JJ Redick does not blame anyone in particular but he is putting the loss more to those who started the third quarter.
Unfortunately Luka Doncic has not looked the same since a couple of mins ago
Continues to grab his right adductor (groin)
Big concern moving forward pic.twitter.com/eAMCak5lW6
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) October 22, 2025
Lakers were down by just one point after 24 minutes and they appeared to be in it those first two quarters. The energy was there both on the offense and defense, led by both Doncic and Reaves while summer acquisition Marcus Smart was also bringing it on the defense end.
The halftime must have cooled them down as the allowed the Warriors to outscore them by 10 points, carrying that momentum to the fourth quarter. Lakers played in the Dubs’ tempo since then.
Redick specifically blamed their lackluster third quarter for the loss. He is now suggesting that they have to “rethink” their ways to address this issue that has been hounding them since the pre-season.
“The trend I see is that we continue to be a terrible 3rd quarter team to start,” Redick said. “We gotta rethink some things. It’s a two-way thing with the guys. What do they need at halftime to make sure they’re ready to play? They are not ready to play to start the third quarter.”
Jimmy Butler led the way for the Warriors with his 31 points while Stephen Curry added 23. Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga both had 17.
JJ Redick comments on Lebron James’ absence
The most noticeable part of Lakers’ opening game is the absence of superstar Lebron James who missed a first game of the season for the first time ever.
Redick admitted that James presence could have solved the struggles they had in that Warriors loss.
JJ Redick:
“It’s hard to forget about Lebron. The reality is when you’re focused on the group that you have, you gotta make that group work. I’ll be honest with you, I did have one moment in that first half when we had a few possessions we couldn’t score against the zone it’d be… pic.twitter.com/Q4Bs0QoZTg
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) October 22, 2025
The second year coach will continue getting hounded by those thoughts as James will not return until November as he is recovering from sciatica.
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