Warriors complete unbeaten preseason as youngsters impress in Lakers obliteration

The Golden State Warriors have made light work of the Los Angeles Lakers in their final preseason outing, obliterating the visitors in a 132-74 rout at Chase Center on Friday night.

With the Lakers playing without all their starters on the second night of a poorly scheduled back-to-back, the Warriors quickly asserted their authority by taking a 36-18 lead after a first-quarter in which they shot 60% from the floor and recorded only one turnover.

The Warriors produced a 58-point beatdown of the Lakers on Friday night

In what was hoped would be a full dress rehearsal ahead of their season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers next week, the plans quickly changed given the weakness of the opposition and the Warriors own injury concern.

Having missed last weekend's game against the Detroit Pistons, superstar guard Stephen Curry was again out after re-injuring his finger at practice. Head coach Steve Kerr confirmed there would be no doubt about the 2x MVP's availability for the regular season opener, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

The young Laker squad squad were more competitive in the second and early third-quarter, but the Warriors were understandably too clinical as they wound up shooting 58% from the field, 36.1% from three-point range and added 37 assists to just 13 turnovers.

As much as it's difficult to take too much from the game given the opposition, Golden State couldn't have asked for much more from a number of individuals and from a team standpoint. In a further sign of the potential starting lineup to start the regular season, Kerr again went back to the quartet of Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis, while De'Anthony Melton started in place of Curry at the point guard position.

The Warrior younger players continued their impressive preseason campaigns, with Kuminga easing his way to the rim on countless occasions to finish with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in just 19 minutes.

Brandin Podziemski made his return sporting a face mask due to a broken nose, but that didn't stop him from wreaking havoc all over the floor. The 21-year-old had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals, finishing as a team-high +39 in 21 minutes.

Moses Moody continued his good form with 14 points and four rebounds off the bench, while Buddy Hield added four threes in his own 14-point performance. Wiggins had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks in an improved performance from his return game against the Lakers on Tuesday.

Trayce Jackson-Davis also had 12 points, five assists and four blocks in his 20 minutes, while fellow big man Quinten Post showed some positive signs in the fourth-quarter with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in seven minutes.

The Warriors finish the preseason with a perfect 6-0 record, setting themselves up nicely to attack the regular season with confidence and authority starting in Portland on Wednesday.