SAN FRANCISCO – Schedule makers didn’t do the Warriors any favors for their next game, and the same can be said about the challenges the Los Angeles Lakers faced Tuesday night at Chase Center.

The Lakers were on their second night of a back-to-back after playing the previous night in Sacramento, so head coach JJ Redick decided to not suit up Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler. And the Warriors took advantage in a 124-98 blowout win.

The Warriors led by 14 points after the first quarter, 28 points at halftime and 21 points after three quarters before an eventual 26-point win. 

Steph Curry was a plus-26, scoring 16 points in 14 minutes. Draymond Green was a plus-25, making his only shot – a three from the right corner – and handed out eight assists in 15 minutes. The biggest bright spot was the young combination of Yaxel Lendeborg (17 points) and Brandin Podziemski (16 points), who combined for 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting.

On Wednesday, the Warriors will be the ones playing shorthanded on a back-to-back. Curry, Green and Al Horford, among others, won’t even make the trip. But first, the Warriors handled business by playing fast and smart to execute a game plan that gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ first win of the preseason. 

New Starting Lineup

All it took was one preseason game for Steve Kerr to tinker with his starting five. It wasn’t his highly touted rookie who took a seat, but the oldest player on his roster. Al Horford was replaced by Gui Santos, who began the game alongside Curry, Podziemski, Lendeborg and Green. 

Lendeborg, of course, is new to the group. But the previous four enjoyed a whole lot of success together last season. Curry, Podziemski, Santos and Green were a plus-24 in 2025-26 over 13 games and 70 total minutes, which was Golden State’s second-best four-man group overall. They produced a 111.6 offensive rating and 102.1 defensive rating. 

Adding Lendeborg only brought more juice, and Kerr has to be happy with what he saw Tuesday night. The starting five raced out to an 11-2 lead and were ahead 23-13 when Kerr made his first substitutions. Warriors starters combined for 31 points in the first quarter, which is how much the Lakers finished the frame as a team.

The Warriors at halftime were ahead by 28 points, 81-53. The starting five through the first two quarters combined to score 56 points, three more than the Lakers as a whole. Though Curry, Lendeborg and Podziemski were the ones pouring in points, Green dropped dimes to the tune of eight assists and did the dirty work of six points on 2-of-2 shooting, 2 of 2 on free throws and had two rebounds and two assists.

Between Kristaps Porziņģis’ mysterious health issues and managing Horford’s minutes, there’s a strong chance this is the same starting five Kerr uses against the Lakers in LA to open the regular season.

Aggressive Yaxel 

The message from Kerr and Lendeborg’s teammates was clear after his first preseason game: Be more aggressive. From the looks of it, Lendeborg listened. 

He scored four points and took six shots Sunday in Hawaii. By the end of the first quarter two days later, Lendeborg already was up to seven points on five shot attempts to go with four rebounds and a blocked shot. Lendeborg took advantage of mismatches from the start while still playing his all-around game.

Lendeborg did all his work in the first quarter around the rim, and then drained his first two 3-point attempts of the game in the second quarter on back-to-back possessions – the first off an assist from Green and the second on his own.

His size as a ball-handler is a force that can split the sea. There are numerous ways where Lendeborg automatically has an advantage, and that includes going coast-to-coast on his own. 

Lendeborg led the Warriors with a game-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half and led both sides with eight rebounds. He went 5 of 8 in the paint and made both of his 3-point attempts. The adjustments Lendeborg made after one preseason game were that of a veteran ready to make an instant impact.

Podz Bounces Back 

Outside of Curry, the key to the Warriors this season can fall in the hands of Lendeborg and Podziemski. They need Podziemski to continue ascending in his fourth season, and Lendeborg to be the kind of win-now rookie they expected when they drafted him No. 11 overall. If they play in the regular season how they did Tuesday night, both boxes will be checked. 

Podziemski was the talk of training camp but then struggled to find his shot Sunday in the Warriors’ first preseason game. In their second, Podziemski provided instant offense. Podziemski completed a four-point play off a 3-pointer at the top of the arc on the Warriors’ first offensive possession and then cut behind his defender the next time down the court. 

After scoring seven points on 2-of-10 shooting the other night, Podziemski dropped 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting against the Lakers. Though he missed his other two 3-point attempts, Podziemski was crafty and decisive as a scorer. If the Warriors are going to tread water while down Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, it could be Lendeborg and Podziemski keeping them afloat. 

If they’re going to surprise many around the league and be a top six team in the Western Conference, it really could come down to how consistently impactful the duo of Lendeborg and Podziemski are on a nightly basis.

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