We still haven’t seen the Golden State Warriors at full strength, but on Tuesday in Las Vegas they looked like a team putting everything together ahead of next week’s season opener. The Dubs were without Brandin Podziemski (who broke his nose in Sunday’s win over the Detroit Pistons) and De’Anthony Melton (who sat with a tight back), but welcomed back Steph Curry and Draymond Green (both of whom sat Sunday) and saw Andrew Wiggins don his suit for the first time this season. And that was more than enough to take down a Lakers team that doesn’t suffer from star power thanks to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

It started with an interesting look from the Dubs. Steve Kerr has been open about his hesitation to play Jonathan Kuminga in the three rather than keeping him as a small four, yet he went completely the other way for this match. Not only did Kuminga start at small forward next to the frontcourt of Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis, but the usual small forward, Wiggins, also came in as two guards next to Curry.

Such a huge lineup would only work if Kuminga and Wiggins could hit their threes or get into transition, and while they didn’t do the former, Kuminga emphatically did the latter. He led the offensive charge early, pushing the Warriors in transition while blowing past Davis on multiple half-court possessions, scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the quarter.

It was a fun start to the match, with the teams going back and forth. The Warriors made exciting things happen on offense, but their defense – with Jackson-Davis against Davis, Green against James, Kuminga against Rui Hachimura, Wiggins against Austin Reaves and Curry against D’Angelo Russell – couldn’t maintain the lead. Lakers can’t get to the rim at will. But the Vegas crowd raved about the fast pace and frenetic – but controlled – action.

As the teams started going to their benches (Kerr brought in Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney to play alongside Curry and Green), the game started to slow down. But the bench impressed: Even when new Lakers coach JJ Redick brought back James and Davis late in the quarter, Kerr went with an all-bench lineup of Payton, Hield, Looney, Moses Moody and Kyle Anderson. They held on and a Moody three near the end of the quarter put the Warriors up 31-28 after one.

They picked up where they left off in the second quarter, going on a 9-3 run to start the frame thanks to an ultra-active performance from Moody. Eventually the fast-paced game began to grind to a halt; neither team was sloppy, but both were overly reliant on threes, without great success (Golden State shot just 14-of-45 from distance that night, while Los Angeles shot an even worse 11-of-40).

But the Warriors found a competitive advantage: crowds. The Dubs simply played the way they preferred, and it led to a 10-point lead with under three minutes remaining. It was another frame-ending three – this time one from Curry – that set the halftime margin, as his triple splashed through the net with less than two seconds left, giving Golden State a 58-51 lead.

For the first time all preseason, the Warriors kept their starters in to start the second half. Back-to-back threes from their former teammate Russell brought the Lakers within three points early, but the Warriors responded with a 7-0 run to take a double-digit lead just over four minutes in, forcing Redick to make a to call timeout. The push-and-pull continued: After Golden State made it an 11-point lead, the Lakers scored six unanswered, but the Warriors called a timeout and came up with a strong response.

After building the lead to nearly double figures, the Dubs closed the third quarter with a perfectly scored two-on-one: Anderson dropped a floater on one end, they got a stop on the other, and then a miraculous run. two-man play with Moody and Looney resulted in a mid-range jumper for Moody. Golden State led 83-70 going into the final quarter.

There would be no shenanigans in the fourth quarter like we were used to last year. The Warriors scored the first five points of the frame, pushing the lead to 18 points, and the lead stayed near that margin for most of the quarter. Curry and Green played key minutes in the fourth quarter as they headed into regular season playing time, but with the lead secured, the only truly notable part of the quarter didn’t come until the three-minute mark, when Bronny James with a roar of a goal came into the match. excited Vegas crowd.

Golden State kept the lead out of Los Angeles’ reach, and it would stay that way until the final buzzer, when the Warriors won 111-97. They remain undefeated this preseason, with a perfect 5-0 record.

Moody once again paced the Warriors as his phenomenal preseason continued. He had a team-high 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-7 from deep, while again providing hustle and strong defense, and had a +18 plus/minus, second only to Anderson’s +22. Curry scored 16 points (although he needed 18 shots to get there), and went with five rebounds and six assists, while Green had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Curry also delivered one of the funniest moments of the night during a very weak dunk attempt.

Kuminga had a few defensive lapses, but his athleticism and transition attack were key, and he finished with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting, plus six rebounds and three assists.

Wiggins looked pretty rusty, which was to be expected, and struggled with his jumper…he scored 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting, but all of his made field goals were uncontested layups and dunks, while all of his missed jumps. shots. However, he did get to the free-throw line, where he made all five shots. Most importantly, he looked athletic and explosive, something that was strangely absent last year.

Even though the Warriors only shot 31.1% from deep, they still had a fantastic 33 assists while turning the ball over just 14 times, and they outplayed the Lakers.

The Dubs will look to cap off a perfect preseason on Friday when they return home to host the Lakers in each team’s preseason finale. That game is at 7:30 PM PT on ESPN2.

And then it’s on to the regular competition!