Although he made the trip to China, Bryant is sitting out the games to nurse a torn Achilles tendon and an ailing right knee. He was clearly missed by the Chinese fans, who chanted his name throughout the game in the vain hope he would take the court.
The Lakers play a second exhibition game in Shanghai on Friday.
The Warriors trailed 11 points at the end of the third quarter, but tied the score at 84 with just over seven minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by Curry and never fell behind again.
Coach Mark Jackson said Curry is benefiting from having been healthy the entire offseason for once.
"I thought tonight for the first time in a long time he had a rhythm and he was the best player on the floor," Jackson said. "It was great to see and we expect tremendous (things) from him throughout the course of this season."
Curry said the team played "probably our best half in the second half all preseason."
Gasol said the Lakers faded defensively in the third quarter.
"We don't know when Kobe's going to get back," Gasol said. "But until that point we just have to play hard as a team as we've been doing, and making sure we can't wait for him to get back and everything to fall into place at that point."
