The Golden State Warriors fell behind the Los Angeles Lakers by 23 points after the first quarter Friday night, October 30, 2026, but stormed back for a 112–95 victory at Chase Center.
Check the Description of our Watch Party for the recap 📝:
Afterward, one Wardell Stephen Curry II, Steve Kerr, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton and Yaxel Lendeborg discussed what changed, the defensive adjustments against Luka Dončić, the contributions from the bench and a Warriors team starting to find its identity.
Here are our Top Ten quotes from the postgame interviews:
“Nobody went their separate ways when we got punched in the mouth in the first quarter and that was great to see.” — Curry
My hot take: I gotta admit, it was very difficult “JV” basketball to watch, that Q1, but I learned that this modern NBA, anything can happen — the defenses are that bad!
“Yeah, I mean, the confidence that I get from my teammates, from coaches, of shooting the ball, it’s empowering for sure, especially the greatest of all time telling you that. And I was able to get up nine after that, so for me, just like I said, coming into the season, just trying to get up as many as I can.” — Podz on Steph telling him to shoot
My hot take: I’m not a proponent of Podz hunting shots, but then again: “modern NBA” 🤷🏻♂️ As Mark Jackson loved to say, “It’s a make-or-miss league,” and I’m learning to accept some of the warts — article on Podz forthcoming!
“Them boys had my back today. It was amazing to see.” — Yaxel on his teammates supporting him
My hot take: It’s quotes like these that make me miss the camaraderie of the game and having teammates, one of the best feelings ever, win or lose! 🤗
“But we righted the ship and I think we’re finding ourselves, you know? After the rough start, I think we’re finding that we have a path to be a really good two-way team, and we showed that tonight in the final three quarters.” — Kerr on the Warriors finding themselves
My hot take: Basketball is all about finding your identity and it’s a relief that that Q1 identity did a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde by halftime.
“Pressure him. Pressure him. Pressure him and then send two on him and make him pass, you know what I mean? And make him those long skips. Just play out of closeouts.” — Melton on defending Doncic
My hot take: NOW we’re getting into some Xs & Os! Frank Vogel, nice blitzes. Oh, and btw, Draymond Green still got it on defense, particularly now we’ve seen his point-of-attack against the likes of not just Luka, but also peak/healthy Kawhi Leonard — that’s why he’s the GOAT on defense, period.
“But I think holistically it’s, you try to make him work as much as he makes the other team work on defense and you hope that that takes a little bit out of his legs.” — Steph on making Luka work defensively
My hot take: Translation: “We were hunting Luka” 💪🏼 yesssss!!! Whiners should get hunted, js.
“I mean, I’m a big dweller on bad games, no matter win or loss. But it’s obviously a little bit better when you win. So I feel like I just got to figure out what I was doing wrong.” — Yax on dwelling on bad games
My hot take: I feel like Yax is the only honest guy in front of a mic where, at the same time, it doesn’t actually end up showing weakness. Contrast this with Steve, who usually gets scrutinized on that podium when he taps into honesty.
“And I thought our bench was really awesome tonight. I mean, we had a lot of people who contributed, and obviously Steph and Dray did their thing. They were amazing, as always. BP had a great game. But this was about the bench, Georges (Niang) and Melt, Brandon (Williams), Charles Bassey. I mean, all these guys came off the bench and gave us huge energy and helped get us back in the game.” — Kerr on the bench leading the comeback
My hot take: Steve, please play Bassey and Graham Ike (who was inactive vs. the Lakers to help preserve that 50-game two-way limit) more. B-Dub, too. Break old habits, remember? You can do eet!
“So we’re starting to find a vibe of who we can be and nobody’s getting ahead of ourselves, but we gotta keep moving.” — Steph on the growing identity
My hot take: It’s still on Curry to set the tone with the turnovers. His and Draymond’s were, again, junior varsity-level in Q1 and, sure enough, Yaxel followed suit with a bunch after Steph and Dray cast the die. It’s up to you, Steph. It’s all YOU.
“I can’t even say it, guys. You guys know.” — Yax on Steph dropping Luka
My hot take: If I had to guess, Yaxel saying his No. 1 all-time ankle-breaker was “on the other side” MUST mean Kyrie Irving in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, but I went back and watched that one and — nah, that’s technically NOT an ankle-breaker, sorry. So, idk?
Full interview transcripts
For readers who want to go beyond these ten quotes, the complete cleaned transcripts of the postgame interviews with Curry, Kerr, Podziemski, Melton and Lendeborg are available below the embedded videos, for paid subscribers 👇
Watch the full postgame Q&As (free)
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