The Los Angeles Lakers took the court on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors for their second preseason game of the 2025-26 schedule. In their first game on Friday, they looked ragged as they fell 103-81 to the Phoenix Suns, but they showed some improvement on Sunday.

After getting off to a slow start, they were able to muster 31 points in the first quarter and end the period down by just one. They lost ground in the next two quarters and surrendered 40 points in the third quarter, and while they outscored Golden State 23-9 in the fourth quarter, they lost by a final score of 111-103.

Los Angeles shot a decent 35.3% from 3-point range, and three players in particular stood out for them at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Deandre Ayton

Ayton had two blocks and eight rebounds in 18 minutes on Friday, and afterward, he said he wanted to show that he was committed to being a presence on the defensive end. That commitment seemed to be there again on Sunday.

He played 21 minutes and had another two blocks, as well as seven rebounds. On Friday, the Lakers barely got him involved offensively, but this time, he made three of his eight shot attempts to score seven points.

Ayton’s offense will come. He’s way too skilled to not be a legitimate offensive threat on this team as the season moves along. But his defense, especially his rim protection, will be the biggest key to his individual game this season, and consistent rim protection from him can single-handedly raise the team’s overall ceiling.

Jarred Vanderbilt

This summer was the first one since 2022 that Vanderbilt was healthy and able to work on his game. On Sunday, he looked a lot like the old version of himself prior to the foot injury that kept him out for roughly a full calendar year.

He did a little bit of seemingly everything. In 21 minutes, he had nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, and he was active as usual on the defensive end. He even hit one 3-pointer in three attempts from that distance.

Gabe Vincent

Vincent has always been a solid on-the-ball defender on the perimeter. But if he ever becomes a consistent 3-point shooter, it would open up more opportunities for himself and, by extension, the team.

Versus Golden State, he went 3-of-7 from downtown and finished with 16 points and five assists in 19 minutes. With LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves out of action, Vincent was L.A.’s starting point guard, and he did a solid job of playing his role.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Three studs from Lakers’ preseason game versus Warriors on Sunday