Luka Dončić trash-talks Yaxel Lendeborg, hits half-court shot to end first half New York Times (Online) Dan Woike LOS ANGELES — A fan, the refs? Luka Dončić is always looking for someone to amp him up. Wednesday, in the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-105 season-opening win over the Golden State Warriors, that muse was a rookie. Multiple back-and-forth exchanges with Yaxel Lendeborg, the Warriors' first-round pick, led to Lendeborg picking up his first career technical foul and, later, Dončić's first half-court shot this season. The tension started with Lendeborg gamely picking Dončić up full court, guarding the Lakers' star with physicality. Dončić eventually drew a foul on a pump fake, and both players began to chirp. “I don't know if you want to wake up the dragon,” ESPN's Doris Burke said on the broadcast. The foul came with the Lakers leading 53-48 before Dončić made two free throws and Lendeborg went to the bench. That didn't stop Dončić, who had a game-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists, from talking. On the next Lakers possession, he made a 15-footer in front of the Warriors' bench and pointed at the rookie. After he checked back in, Lendeborg got baited into a foul deep in the backcourt, and after forcing a Dončić miss, said something that referees deemed over the line. Lendeborg was called for the technical with 22.4 seconds left in the first half, and Dončić, for the third time in a little more than two minutes, went to the foul line because of the rookie. To punctuate the stretch, Dončić pulled up from half court with seconds left at the end of the first half and made a 49-foot shot off the glass. He found Lendeborg immediately after for a little more trash talk. LUKA FROM DOWNTOWN LA pic.twitter.com/PkB60EijWs — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 22, 2026 In total, it was a 13-4 run with Dončić scoring 10 of the points to give the Lakers a 66-52 halftime lead.