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BOX SCORE
SAN JOSE — The Warriors concluded their preseason schedule Friday night with a 119-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at SAP Center.
Unlike the spirited game between the teams two nights earlier in Las Vegas, this was a relatively low-intensity affair, aside from a few silly ejections. This surely was a result of diminished star power.
Stephen Curry, slated to play about 30 minutes, left the game late in the first quarter and did not return. The Warriors announced he was feeling “under the weather.”
The Warriors rested Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, while the Lakers rested LeBron James and Rajon Rondo. Two more Los Angeles starters — Brandon Ingram and Kentavious Caldwall-Pope — also sat out.
Here are three takeaways from the preseason finale.
A tale of two defenses
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr highlighted a couple of specific areas in which he wanted to see improvement. One of those areas, and the most important of two, was better defense. They half-complied.
The Warriors came out with fabulous energy, rolling up first-quarter 38 points and forcing seven turnovers. The Lakers shot 38.1 percent for the quarter, but recovered somewhat in the second quarter, shooting 47.6 percent.
Golden State held Los Angeles to 42.9 percent in the first half. Kerr’s club can live with that, even against a starless Lakers team.
But the Lakers, still starless, lit it up after intermission shredding the Warriors — who played only Draymond Green among the All-Stars in the second half — for 65 points on 66.7-percent shooting (22-of-33).
Expect that request to carry over to practice on Sunday and Monday.
Damian Jones bounces back
After a humdrum performance Wednesday, Damian Jones played particularly well.
Making his fifth consecutive start, Jones totaled 16 points, six rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. He missed five of his nine free throws, but offered the surprise of draining a 19-foot step-back jumper late in the first half.
Any day now, Jones can expect the Warriors to pick up their option to extend his contract for next season. The 2016 first-round pick clearly is in their plans.
With the Oklahoma City Thunder and 7-foot center Stephen Adams looming on opening night, it’s safe to expect Jones to start. He’s the team’s only 7-footer (Kevin Durant is 6-11), and Adams is a rangy and active presence.
McKinnie makes team, doesn’t impress
Training-camp invitee Alfonzo McKinnie achieved his goal of making the team, signing a partially guaranteed one-year contract Friday afternoon. The team’s 14th man was elated before tipoff.
McKinnie then went out and had his least productive game.
He played 37 minutes, by far his longest stint so far — the most by any Warrior this postseason — and finished with 7 points (on 2-of-14 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 beyond the arc, 2-of-4 from the line), seven rebounds and one steal. He was minus-14 for the evening.
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