LeBron James, Anthony Davis not backed up as Warriors grab win over Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers' losing streak continued after they succumbed 121-114 to the Golden State Warriors in the opening game of the 2021-22 NBA season on Tuesday night. Frank Vogel's team came into the new season having lost every one of their six pre-season games.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis scored over 30 points each, but were not backed up by the rest of the team with no other player hitting double digits. Russell Westbrook had a poor debut performance, managing just eight points in 35 minutes.

The Warriors, on the other hand, put in a proper team effort with Stephen Curry leading the way with his first triple-double in five years with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The bench contributed 55 points to ensure Steve Kerr began the campaign with a win over the team that knocked them out in the play-in tournament last season.

Curry was the first to put his hand up and admit that he "played like trash" but believes it is a good omen that the team pulled off a win by creating some good shots and sticking it out defensively. He also wants the team to learn from their mistakes and avoid turning the ball over as often as they did on Tuesday night.

"I played like trash... but if we can win a game like that, where we created some good shots and stuck with it defensively... that's a good omen for us," Curry told Allie LaForce on TNT.

Former Boston Celtics star Kendrick Perkins was quick to praise the Warriors and believes the Lakers' casual approach to pre-season is now damaging their chances to dominate teams at the start of the campaign owing to the lack of chemistry, especially in offense.

Fox Sports' Skip Bayless was also shocked to see the Lakers lose on a night when James and Davis looked to be in fine form. And to top that, Curry was absolutely not at his best despite claiming a triple-double and still the Warriors won by seven points.

The Lakers next face last season's finalists the Phoenix Suns on Friday night at the Staples Center - a team that beat them twice during pre-season. Vogel will be hoping to arrest the slide and get his team back to winning ways.