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The Warriors became the first team in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55) to come back to tie or take the lead at halftime after trailing by 23+ points at the end of the first quarter.<\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Friday\u2019s NBA Cup Group Play opener between the Warriors and Lakers marked Night 1 of a hoops marathon taking place at Chase Center over a 96-hour period.<\/p>\n
The arena, which is home to both the Golden State Warriors and Valkyries, will host a rare back-to-back-to-back-to-back with four games in the span of four days.<\/p>\n
It started with the Warriors\u2019 112-95 win over the Lakers on Friday night It continues Saturday with the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history as the Valkyries host the Dream. On Sunday, the Warriors welcome the Clippers before closing the marathon with a game against the Suns on Monday.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Warriors overcame a slow start and some early Luka Don\u010di\u0107 magic to open play in West Group C with a victory. It was Golden State\u2019s third straight win overall after opening the season 0-3.<\/p>\n
Here are four takeaways from Golden State\u2019s 112-95 win.<\/p>\n
1. A slow start meets a historic response<\/p>\n
Steve Kerr called his first timeout just two minutes and 18 seconds into the game. The Lakers were already up 12-2 and the Warriors had committed three early turnovers.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the timeout, the Warriors turned the ball over again.<\/p>\n
Nothing was working for the Warriors early, while Don\u010di\u0107 was on a heater.<\/p>\n
By the time the first quarter ended, the Warriors gave up more points off turnovers (17) than they scored (15). Luka had 21 of his own and the Lakers put up 38 to hold a 23-point lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t have played worse,\u201d said Kerr, who said going fire and brimstone was not necessary when the team came to the bench. \u201cThey knew it. I didn\u2019t need to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Kerr did not speak up, the players did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a lot of chatter at the end of the first quarter, how we were supposed to respond and it was kind of cool to see,\u201d said Curry.<\/p>\n
When the second quarter started, the Warriors looked like a different team. The careless turnovers came to a screeching halt. The offense had more flow. The defense was sharp.<\/p>\n
The Warriors opened the quarter on a 13-2 run in the first two-and-a-half minutes with Don\u010di\u0107 on the bench to cut the lead to 12. But the Warriors weren\u2019t done. With the Lakers leading by 14 with 3:30 to play in the half, Golden State had another burst, closing the period on a 16-2 run to head to the locker room even at 53-53.<\/p>\n
Entering Friday night, no team in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55) had ever trailed by 23 or more at the end of the first quarter and then come back to tie or take the lead at halftime.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo flip the score like we did at the half, in the second quarter, and to hold them under 95 after a 38-point first quarter is pretty impressive from everybody,\u201d said Curry.<\/p>\n
2. Luka\u2019s 1st quarter magic ends in rare loss<\/p>\n
Fast starts are nothing new for Don\u010di\u0107. In fact, no player has more 20+ point first quarters during the play-by-play era.<\/p>\n
Friday marked the 18th time Luka has erupted for 20 or more in the opening quarter. The next two players on the list are James Harden (13) and Steph Curry (11).<\/p>\n
With the crowd booing him every time he touched the ball, he appeared to feed off the energy, sinking five 3-pointers, getting two buckets in the paint, and still dishing out five assists.<\/p>\n
LUKA JUST WENT OFF IN Q1 \ud83d\ude32<\/p>\n
21 PTS (7-12 FGM) \u2014 NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Warriors had no answer for Don\u010di\u0107 in the game\u2019s first 12 minutes as he became the first player in NBA history to record multiple career quarters with 20+ points, 5+ assists, and 5+ 3PM in the frame.<\/p>\n But the final three quarters were a different story. After shooting 7-for-12 overall and 5-for-9 from 3-point range in the first quarter, Don\u010di\u0107 shot just 5-for-15 and 1-for-7 from deep for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n The end result was only the third loss in 18 games in which Don\u010di\u0107 has opened the night with a 20+ point first quarter.<\/p>\n 3. Warriors depth, cleaning up turnovers are key<\/p>\n On a night when Don\u010di\u0107 scored 37 points and Steph Curry splashed eight 3-pointers on his way to 31 points, it was the 50-7 advantage for the Warriors in bench points that proved to be the stat of the night.<\/p>\n De\u2019Anthony Melton (16 points, four 3-pointers) and Georges Niang (11 points, three 3-pointers) combined to shoot 7-for-9 from deep to help the Warriors double up the Lakers from beyond the arc (22 to 11 in 3-pointers made).<\/p>\n \u201cI thought our bench was really awesome tonight,\u201d said Kerr. \u201cThis was about the bench. Georges and Melt, Brandon (Williams), Charles Bassey. I mean, all of these guys came off the bench and gave us huge energy and helped get us back in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of the disparity in bench scoring, the change in ball security from the first quarter compared to the rest of the game was eye-opening.<\/p>\n After committing 10 turnovers that led to 17 Lakers\u2019 points in the first quarter, the Warriors committed just five turnovers for the remainder of the game, leading to eight points. The combination of making shots and not giving up live-ball turnovers allowed the Warriors to set up their defense rather than scrambling in transition.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the Warriors\u2019 defense forced 16 turnovers over the final three quarters and turned those into 23 points.<\/p>\n 4. Steph dazzles with handles and triples<\/p>\n Curry is not only the greatest shooter of all-time, he is also one of the game\u2019s greatest showmen.<\/p>\n On Friday night, the Warriors\u2019 special NBA Court was his stage. And he delivered some must-see moments, particularly when going head-to-head with his superstar counterpart.<\/p>\n Midway through the third quarter, with the Warriors trailing by nine, Curry had a one-on-one matchup with Don\u010di\u0107 and used a crossover and sidestep to shake free.<\/p>\n As Don\u010di\u0107 slipped to the court, the crowd began to swell, Curry paused for a split second as he lined up an open 3-pointer \u2014 making sure he knocked it down to complete the highlight. And, of course, he had a celebration ready, with one hand on each side of his head, like he was in disbelief.<\/p>\n STEPH CURRY, ARE YOU SERIOUS??? \ud83d\ude31 pic.twitter.com\/0XSBhsnHpy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Chase Center erupted as the Warriors answered the Lakers\u2019 early third quarter spurt and were ready to make a game-changing push of their own.<\/p>\n One quarter later, this time with the Warriors in command with a 14-point lead, Curry struck again. On the opposite wing, Curry again went into his bag, showing off the handles with a quick crossover into a behind-the-back dribble and right into his shooting motion.<\/p>\n After the release, Curry backpedaled to the sideline while the ball was in flight. Then, once it splashed, he smiled from ear to ear as he made his way back up court. The arena was buzzing with another Curry flurry. This one essentially closing the book on the night.<\/p>\n STEPH CRAZY HANDLES AGAIN.<\/p>\n 8 THREES.<\/p>\n 31 POINTS. https:\/\/t.co\/WHFTPNsq0P<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ktSa7t48Sg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n
5 3PM pic.twitter.com\/LaxTtIVlVB<\/a><\/p>\n