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By Jayesh Pagar
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The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a brutal setback Tuesday night.
They fell 124-98 to the Golden State Warriors in a preseason matchup at Chase Center. The loss dropped Los Angeles to 1-1 in the preseason.
Head coach JJ Redick was clearly unhappy with how his team approached the game. The Lakers trailed 45-31 after the first quarter and entered halftime down 81-53. Golden State eventually built a 38-point lead.
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Speaking in his postgame press conference, Redick did not hide his frustration.
"The way we started that game was insane…the first half was unacceptable. I thought that group that started the second half, we got back to our physicality defensively, and Adou and Jake particularly were really good in that stretch."
He specifically praised Adou Thiero and Jake LaRavia for helping the Lakers regain their defensive intensity in the second half.
The Lakers were severely short-handed. Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Arthur Kaluma were unavailable for the matchup.
It was also the second half of a preseason back-to-back, giving Redick another chance to evaluate his younger players.
Still, the lack of regular rotation players did not excuse the opening. Los Angeles committed 22 turnovers and allowed Golden State to shoot 51% from the field.
There were some positives. Sandro Mamukelashvili led the Lakers with 15 points. Quentin Grimes scored 12, while LaRavia finished with nine points, three rebounds and three steals. Thiero added seven points and four rebounds.
The Lakers return home Thursday, October 8, for another preseason game against the Sacramento Kings. They opened their preseason by beating Sacramento 127-103 on October 5.
The Warriors loss should not be overblown. It is only preseason. However, Redick's reaction shows that effort and defensive physicality remain major priorities.
For Los Angeles, the next game is less about the result and more about showing that Tuesday's opening stretch was an outlier.
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