The Los Angeles Lakers played their first preseason game on the road against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, marking the return of NBA action.

Both squads included some fresh faces, however their primary players were not regulars. However, the Lakers’ performance in this game left a lot to be desired as they fell to the Warriors by a score of 125-108.

With LeBron James and Austin Reaves out, the Lakers were left with Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt as their starting five. The Warriors, meanwhile, introduced a new starting lineup without Draymond Green due to an ankle injury, including Chris Paul and Stephen Curry in the backcourt, and Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney in the frontcourt.

Due to Golden State’s lack of size, Davis got out to a fast start for L.A. on both ends of the court, just as he did against the Warriors in the playoffs last year. The Warriors had a commanding 29-23 lead after the first quarter, thanks in large part to Klay Thompson’s early scoring surge.

It was to be expected that the Lakers’ reserve team would have a rough start to the second quarter without two of their regular players. Despite Davis sinking back-to-back 3-pointers, the Warriors extended their advantage to double digits for the first time, all the way to 50-32, as the Lakers went ice cold from the floor. Twenty-six of Los Angeles’ opening 32 points came from Davis and Russell.

After taking a timeout, the Lakers began to close the gap by making shots like Vanderbilt’s three-pointer and Russell’s alley-oop to Jaxson Hayes. By halftime, the Lakers’ deficit had been reduced to 61-54 thanks to three-pointers by Vanderbilt and Russell.

Davis and Russell had such impressive halves that Darvin Ham chose to bench them for the second half, giving third quarter starts to Christian Wood and Max Christie. Even the Warriors benched their starters in the second half, allowing some of the benched players on both sides to get meaningful action.

While the Warriors’ outside shooting cooled off, Hachimura, Vincent, and Christie capitalized for Los Angeles by making shots from deep. Christie showed glimpses of his promise with some solid two-way play in the third quarter, but the Lakers slipped up and trailed 95-83 heading into the final frame.

Injuries are the worst possible thing to happen in the preseason, but Cam Reddish went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter.

Christie, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Colin Castleton, and D’Moi Hodge, among others, gained playing time down the stretch for the Lakers when numerous regulars sat out, Reddish got hurt, and Taurean Prince fouled out. As the Warriors’ advantage grew, it was clear that they were going to cruise to an easy victory.