SAN FRANCISCO – Steph Curry zipped around screens before burying three-pointers. Jimmy Butler slalomed into the lane for crafty layups on a tender ankle. Draymond Green got into a scrap with a Lakers big man.
Curry scored 14 points, Butler put in nine and Green had five assists as a playmaking five.
It might have been just the preseason opener against a Lakers team that lacked LeBron James and Luka Doncic, but the Warriors star-led lineup looked identical to the team that went 23-8 to end the regular season early in Sunday’s 111-103 victory .
Well, almost identical.
That new Al Horford guy … he was pretty difficult to ignore. The stats accrued in just 14 minutes were impressive enough: three points, four rebounds, three assists, a trio of blocks and a steal stood out on the box score.