SAN FRANCISCO — The sport couldn’t have began higher for the Lakers, who were fueled by a signature Luka Doncic scoring early scoring flurry Friday evening in Chase Center.
But once those flurries evaporated, so did the Lakers’ momentum, making the last end result even more painful for them after the Warriors flipped the script.
The Warriors came back from down 25 factors to beat the Lakers 112-95 to kick off NBA Cup group play on Friday evening.
Warriors star Steph Curry led his group in their 42-point turnaround, recording 31 factors, six assists and 4 rebounds.
Brandin Podziemski had 21 factors and six assists.
De’Anthony Melton (16 factors, 5 rebounds) was essential in getting the Warriors’ offense going after the group’s 15-point first quarter.
He scored seven straight factors early in the second to cut the Lakers’ lead to 18, and the Warriors didn’t look back from there.
Melton (13 factors) and Curry (eight) mixed for 21 second-quarter factors, outscoring the Lakers (15) by themselves in the quarter, which the Warriors won 38-15 to tie the sport at 53 apiece going into halftime.
The Lakers seemed like they regained momentum coming out of the break, but it was short-lived.
The Warriors outscored the Lakers 59-42 in the second half, with the Lakers struggling offensively whenever Doncic wasn’t on the court.
The Lakers scored 15 factors in the second and fourth quarters.
Doncic led the Lakers with a game-best 37 factors, to go with seven rebounds, 5 assists and two blocked pictures, after his 21-point first quarter.
The Lakers led 38-15 after the opening quarter, and were up 40-15 early in the second.
Austin Reaves added 21 factors and 5 assists, but also had 5 turnovers.
And the Lakers’ bench struggled to produce, which was expensive during a sport the Warriors’ bench was on fire.
The Warriors’ reserves outscored the Lakers’ by 43 (50-7).
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