Austin Reaves Doesn't Mince Words on Lakers' Shortcomings in Loss to Warriors

Oct 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) drives against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a disappointing loss in the opening game of their 2025-26 season, falling short against the Golden State Warriors.

After falling behind by six points by the end of the first quarter, the Lakers battled back to a one-point deficit at halftime. Coming out of the tunnel, however, they had a brutal third quarter — trailing by as many as 17 points — and found themselves down by double digits a the end of the period. Ultimately, they lost 119-109.

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Guard Austin Reaves had a solid game, putting up 26 points and nine assists; however was quick to point out the Lakers' flaws.

“We’ve just been bad at third quarters the last couple of years, for sure,” Reaves said. “Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve had a problem with third quarters. So just got to figure out a way to come out with a little more energy. It was the first thing JJ talked about afterwards, just figuring out a way to be better in the third quarter.

“That’s on us players, that’s not on the coaches. They come and give us what we need, give us the answers to the test. And we just didn’t find an execute, so that’s on us. We have to be better.”

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The Lakers struggled in the third quarter in 2024-25, posting an average third-quarter points margin of -1.3, which ranked 22nd in the NBA.

LA struggled to generate offense period through players other than Reaves and Luka Doncic, as the duo accounted for 69 of their 109 points on the night. Only one other player reached 10 points on the night: DeAndre Ayton.

The Lakers need to figure themselves out in the absence of LeBron James, as he will likely miss a few more weeks with the sciatica in his right side.

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Their next game comes in a rematch of last season's first-round playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who won their first game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Lakers have homecourt advantage in the game, which is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. PT.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.