Walker Kessler’s first Lakers basket arrived on the opening possession, a lob from Luka Dončić that ended in a dunk. By the time 9:33 remained in the first quarter, Kessler had three field goals, all at the rim, and Los Angeles had already put Golden State’s defense in an uncomfortable place.
The Warriors never found a convincing answer. Los Angeles won 127-105 on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, turning a competitive opening period into a rout behind Kessler’s flawless 12-for-12 shooting. He scored 26 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots.
The central problem for Golden State was not merely that a new Lakers center had a perfect finishing night. It was that the Warriors allowed the Lakers to keep reaching the paint with remarkable ease.
Kessler’s points came from more than one kind of finish, with teammates repeatedly supplying passes for baskets. Dončić connected with him several times early, helping make the Lakers’ new center an immediate part of the scoring. The first three Lakers baskets for Kessler came on a lob, an alley-oop layup and a dunk.
Golden State was not beaten by one freak sequence. It was repeatedly asked to defend the same basic area and repeatedly failed to make that area difficult.
The final interior numbers made the imbalance hard to disguise. Los Angeles scored 66 points in the paint, compared with 56 for Golden State. That difference matters even though the Warriors were capable of attacking the lane themselves.
The Lakers shot 46 for 81 overall, or 56.8%, while Golden State made 38 of 92 attempts. Cold perimeter shooting hurt the Warriors’ scoring total, but Los Angeles’ efficient work inside gave the deficit a second dimension: Golden State was missing shots while permitting the opponent to convert at a much higher rate.
The game’s separation came after a first quarter in which the Lakers led 34-33. Golden State then scored 19 points in the second quarter and 16 in the third. Los Angeles answered with a 36-16 third period and carried a 102-68 lead into the fourth.
That sequence says more about the defensive failure than the final margin does. The Lakers did not need a last-minute burst to escape; they built the game beyond repair during the middle two quarters.
Dončić supplied 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Austin Reaves added 23. Their production mattered because Kessler’s perfect shooting was part of a broader Lakers offense rather than an isolated center showcase. Los Angeles finished with 28 assists and 10 offensive rebounds, extending possessions and continuing to create scoring chances around the basket.
Kessler’s line was the cleanest symbol of that success, but the Lakers had several ways to keep pressure on Golden State’s defense.