Warriors instant analysis: Butler leads balanced attack past Doncic, Lakers in season opener

LOS ANGELES On one side was a brilliant offensive talent a singular force wearing purple and gold On the other side donning blue was an effective collective On Tuesday night at Crypto com Arena the Warriors team-centric approach to scoring the ball prevailed over the Lakers all-Luka Doncic all the time tactics in a - domination With sciatica relegating LeBron James to the sidelines Doncic was unstoppable as a scorer and put up points However after a close first half that saw the Warriors lead just - at halftime the visitors outscored Los Angeles by in the third quarter to create cushion Steph Curry put in Jimmy Butler poured in an efficient and Jonathan Kuminga had Draymond Green orchestrated much of it as a passer in the post while Buddy Hield provided punch off the bench with points While the Lakers relied on one athlete to do almost everything the Warriors got contributions from the entire group as Steve Kerr played an -man rotation The Lakers made them work for the win though After Will Richard s -ponter gave the Warriors a - lead with left the Lakers went on a - run over the next two minutes behind Austin Reaves who scored Following a Steve Kerr timeout Butler hit a -pointer to push the advantage back to eight points A Curry dagger with a minute remaining to put the Warriors back up by iced the event The Warriors - will have one day off before playing their home opener against Denver on Thursday Kuminga keys third quarter run Much has been made about Kuminga s fit with veteran frontcourt mates Green and Butler If the third quarter was any indication the Warriors could thrive when those three are on the floor After going into halftime just up by one Kuminga scored points and made a trio of triples to help the Warriors take a -point advantage by the mid-point of the third quarter In addition to guarding Doncic Kuminga looked assured launching bombs from behind the arc against a porous Lakers defense while also creating space as a cutter when Green had the ball at the elbow Butler goes off Sitting in a stuffy crowded pregame press conference Kerr waxed poetic about Butler s ability to draw fouls On a organization known for shooting -pointers and flashy plays his ability to grind out points at the free throw line has given the Warriors an added dimension That was instantly apparent in the first quarter when Butler scored points He finished the first half with free-throw attempts his final two earned when he grabbed a last-second offensive rebound and was able to get up a shot He was money in the fourth too Butler s layup and free throws helped keep the Lakes at bay Butler s made free throws surpassed Jerry Lucas for the greater part by a Warrior in a season opener Chippy play It might have just been the first of regular-season games but the Lakers-Warriors matchup had the intensity of a postseason series Draymond Green of class earned the first technical of the Warriors season from the bench when he protested a no-call on what could have been offensive goaltending in the first quarter Related Articles A Steph Curry MVP run and four more predictions for the Warriors - season How to watch Warriors season opener vs Lakers Why LeBron James is not playing against the Warriors Our NBA predictions How will the mighty West be won Warriors Antiques Roadshow is back why Curry Co must slow-walk their way to playoffs He earned one point back though when Lakers power forward Jarred Vanderbilt shoved Green later in the half Green appeared to be trying to move toward the official to have a conversation and the Lakers forward took offense Curry had chosen choice words for Marcus Smart with left in the first half after the Warriors defender put Curry s right shoulder in an arm lock and yanked him to the ground It resulted in a flagrant foul Other notables Second-round rookie Will Richard has been a revelation in training camp and the coaching staff displayed that their high praise were not empty words on Tuesday night Richard played minutes was a pest on defense and even had a stint guarding Doncic Turnovers plagued the Warriors during the preaseason with the gang committing at least in each of their five exhibition matchups On Tuesday night the Warriors cut down on them if only slightly They gave the ball away times