The first quarter of Wednesday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, which was the 2026-27 regular-season opener for both teams, was competitive. The Lakers ended it ahead 34-33, and by then, Stephen Curry had already poured in 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
But they clamped down afterward, holding Golden State to just 72 points the rest of the way while gradually building a big lead. Curry did not make a single basket after the first-quarter horn, and L.A. glided to a 127-105 win.
Overall, Golden State shot just 41.3% from the field and 22.2% from 3-point range on the night. Luka Doncic, who had 23 of his 28 points in the first half, said Los Angeles made one main defensive adjustment on Curry, and he sounded confident overall about his team's potential on that end of the court.
“I think the main thing was just staying solid,” Dončić told reporters postgame. “I think Steph 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.”
Curry is considered the greatest outside shooter in the history of basketball, but what has always made him nearly impossible to contain, let alone stop, is his outstanding movement off the ball. Golden State executes its offense about as well as any other team does, and everyone has to be on a string, as the saying goes in basketball, to keep Curry in a cage for long stretches.
Defense has been a huge area of focus for coach JJ Redick after the Lakers ranked just 20th in defensive rating last season. The vision and plan are to be more aggressive on that end of the floor, partly by shadowing opposing ball-handlers more tightly and giving opposing players on the perimeter less space.
On Wednesday, the Lakers turned 16 Golden State turnovers into 25 points while registering 21 fast-break points, with 15 of those transition points coming in the first half. It's just one game, but there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about this very early stage of the Doncic era.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: Luka Doncic on Lakers' defensive adjustments on Stephen Curry