SAN FRANCISCO -- LeBron James was out and the new-look Los Angeles Lakers looked locked in with a 109-103 road win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
"You couldn't ask for a better first game," said Jarred Vanderbilt, who had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 17 minutes off the bench in his Lakers debut.
Without James, the Lakers played through Anthony Davis, who struggled through a 5-for-19 shooting night but was still able to affect the outcome with blocks on Klay Thompson and Donte DiVincenzo in the final minutes.
"I just shifted my mindset to the defensive end," said Davis, who finished with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. "I just wanted to go out and get every rebound and block every shot, and my mindset just shifted."
The Lakers put three other players in double-figures outside of Davis and Vanderbilt, with Dennis Schroder (26 points) and D'Angelo Russell (15 points) making up the starting backcourt and Rui Hachimura (16 points) also chipping in.
The spread-out offensive responsibilities would be a welcome shift in the Lakers' game plan to preserve James for the stretch run.
James underwent medical imaging on his left foot this week that did not show any significant damage other than general wear and tear, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham.
"We're grateful that things came back clean and good," Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters on a conference call Saturday.
Ham added that the examination showed that James' left foot was "just a little irritated in one area," and the team is taking a cautious approach to avoid "putting him at risk of bigger issues" as L.A. chases a playoff spot.
A source familiar with James' injury told ESPN his playing status is "50-50" for Monday's game in Portland against the Blazers. Ham said it is highly unlikely that James will continue to sit for the Lakers' two remaining games prior to the All-Star break -- Monday in Portland and Wednesday at home against the New Orleans Pelicans.
"I don't think he'll allow us to do that," Ham said. "His foot, we have to follow the lead of it, based on how it's feeling, have him ramp up in some workouts and see how it responds."
Malik Beasley also made his Lakers debut against the Warriors, scoring four points on 2-for-9 shooting and missing all six of his 3-pointers.
Which Davis said was a good sign.
"When I see Malik went 0-for-6 from 3, honestly I'm OK with that," Davis said. "Obviously his first game, but we don't want him to hesitate. We want him to let it fly. He shoots the ball too well to hesitate. Just let it fly, keep his confidence up. He'll be fine."
Newly acquired center Mo Bamba will serve the final game of a three-game suspension Monday in Portland, giving Ham a full 14-man roster soon enough.
"They know what we're trying to do," Ham said of the Lakers' new players. "We talked about that. The reason they were brought in here was not only because they're talented but we believe they truly can help us make a strong push down the stretch."