Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Stephen Curry added 23 and the Golden State Warriors overcame Luka Doncic’s 43-point performance to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 119-109 on Tuesday night in both teams’ season opener.
LeBron James missed a season opener for the first time in his 23 years in the NBA, watching from the Lakers’ bench. The top scorer in league history has sciatica that is expected to sideline him until mid-November.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 17 points while the Warriors largely shut down the Lakers apart from Doncic, who scored 40 points for the 47th time in his NBA career and the third since joining the Lakers.