Kevin Durant finished with nine points, including an uncontested dunk for his first basket with the Warriors, but Golden State fell 97-93 to the Toronto Raptors in the pre-season opener for both clubs Saturday.
Durant, who played most of the first half, signed with Golden State this summer as a big-money free agent, joining an already star-studded lineup that includes two-time reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
The Warriors are coming off an NBA-record 73-win season that ended with a blown 3-1 series lead and a gut-wrenching loss in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers that denied them back-to-back titles.
Toronto, meanwhile, set a new franchise mark with 56 wins in 2015-16 on the way to making the Eastern Conference final for the first time.
Both teams went with their strongest lineups to start, with Curry, Durant, Green, Thompson and Zaza Pachulia going up against Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Jared Sullinger and DeMarre Carroll for Toronto.
Durant started the game 1 for 6, but his first points for Golden State — which opened last season on a record-breaking 24-game winning streak — came by way of a dunk that had the energetic crowd at Rogers Arena on its feet.
Statement during anthems
Before the game, the Raptors locked arms during the national anthems. Players and staff stood arm in arm during both the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada," with some bowing their heads.
🇨🇦 #WeTheNorth http://pic.twitter.com/jSGwYkmeKo
— @Raptors
The Raptors said earlier this week that they planned to join the growing chorus of pro athletes speaking out against police brutality and racial injustice in the United States.
San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick has refused to stand for the U.S. anthem, a protest that has spread across the NFL.
The NBA has a rule that players and coaches must stand during the national anthems, although the rule wasn't mentioned in a recent letter to players.
Players and staff from Golden State stood at the opposite end of the floor during Saturday's anthems, but didn't appear to be taking part in any type of protest.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said prior to the game that his team had a number of conversations about the issue and their response.
"Guys were real, guys had sincere feelings, sincere thoughts, sincere things to talk about and concerns," said Casey. "That's what all this should be about — to induce conversation."
Raptors open pre-season with win against Warriors
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