After allowing 33 first-quarter points to begin their season against the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers clamped down and held Golden State to 35 points over the next two periods. By the time the fourth quarter arrived, Los Angeles was firmly in control with a 102-68 lead and won handily, 127-105.
According to Cleaning the Glass — which filters out garbage time and didn’t factor in the final 6:04 of the fourth — the Lakers posted a 96.5 defensive rating. That would’ve been their sixth-best mark of 2025-26, including the playoffs. Los Angeles didn’t even duck below a 100.0 defensive rating until Nov. 15 last season in their 14th game of the year.
“I think the main thing was just staying solid,” Luka Dončić told reporters postgame. “I think Steph [Curry] had like four or five cuts on back doors in the first quarter. So just trying to get on the low side and then pursue, pursue. But just I think staying solid. I think we have great potential defensively.”
Dončić said Los Angeles implemented some key tweaks after that 33-point first quarter and executed them well to right the ship with a stingy performance the next 24 minutes.
“We didn’t overreact from the first quarter,” he said. “…We just changed a couple of things and then stuck to it. I think it was a great defensive effort.”
While the Lakers entered intermission with a 66-52 lead, it was the third quarter that truly propelled them to victory. They outscored Golden State 36-16 and entered the fourth ahead by 34 at 102-68. Walker Kessler, who logged 26 points on perfect 12-of-12 shooting in his debut, told reporters that head coach JJ Redick harped on refining a few areas during halftime. So, the Lakers promptly did and cruised to a blowout win.
“It was definitely a point of emphasis at halftime. JJ was like, ‘Hey, we got to clean up some things.’ Specifically the backdoor cuts,” Kessler said. “From my own, I got to pressure the ball more. Draymond was picking us apart a little bit. So that’s on me. And then our wing defenders, we really picked it up the second half, obviously. We looked like the defensive team that I know we can be in the second half.”