The Warriors were sloppy early, heated up later, buckled late but never broke.
And their veterans never looked too old or too slow.
That was plenty for Golden State to lay a 119-109 lashing on the Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Four Warriors scored in double figures, led by 31 points from Jimmy Butler III. Stephen Curry finished with 23, while Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield each tallied 17.
Leading throughout the second half by as much as 17, the Warriors were threatened by a late LA rally that trimmed with margin to as little as six (105-99, 3:59 remaining) but managed to hang on behind Butler and Curry.
Luka Dončić scored a game-high 43 points, adding 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Here are three observations from the first of four meetings with their Southern California rivals, who were without LeBron James, who is out with sciatica:
Robin does a Batman turn
After hobbling through the preseason on a bum left ankle that forced him to miss three of the five games, Butler, aka Robin to Curry’s Batman, wasted no time showing he was ready for the season to start.
Listed as “probable” on the team injury report, Butler put the Warriors on his back from the opening tip, pouring in 12 of their 28 first-quarter points in his first nine minutes. He drained a 3-pointer within the first two minutes and shot 7-of-7 from the line.
The other four starters combined for 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting in the opening quarter.
Butler’s early blast was crucial to the Warriors taking a 28-22 lead into the third quarter.
Butler’s 31 points came on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including 1-of-2 from distance and 16-of-16 from the line. He was plus-20 over 34 minutes.
It appears Robin’s ankle is, um, just fine.
Kerr gives Kuminga the start
Scanning his roster and wondering who might prevent Dončić from dropping 50, coach Steve Kerr turned to Jonathan Kuminga.
The results? The MVP candidate taught Kuminga a few lessons. Dončić’s 43 points came on 17-of-27 shooting from the field but only 2-of-10 from deep as Golden State limited LA to 25 percent from deep.
On offense, however, Kuminga punished the Lakers, his 17 points coming on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep. The four triples tie his career high. He added a team-high nine rebounds, with six assists. He finished plus-4 over 33 minutes.
Kuminga was the catalyst during a third quarter in which the Warriors outscored LA 35-25, scoring 13 points in nine minutes on 5-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-3 beyond the arc.
Though Kuminga likely will come off the bench when everyone is healthy, the age of the veterans on the roster ensures there is no doubt he’ll get many more opportunities to start.
Horford’s debut
Kerr indicated throughout the preseason that he wasn’t sure if Al Horford would open the season as the starting center. His concern centered on finding the proper distribution of minutes to get the most out of the 39-year-old vet.
Feeling comfortable with Draymond Green’s ability to defend 7-foot Lakers center Deandre Ayton, Kerr brought Horford off the bench to replace Green with 5:40 left in the first quarter, keeping his minutes to intervals of no more than six minutes.
Horford’s performance was a mixed bag. Playing 20 minutes, he totaled five points and five rebounds while committing four fouls and two turnovers. He was minus-10 for the night.
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