After splitting their first two games, the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up California Classic play on Tuesday night with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
Both teams were looking to head to the Las Vegas Summer League on a high note, but ultimately it was the Lakers who came out on top with a 89-88 victory at Chase Center. The Lakers wound up going 2-1 in their three California Classic games.
Dalton Knecht, who got off to a slow start to the summer, going going early in this one with the Lakers’ first four points. He and DJ Steward then each connected from deep to give L.A. its first lead.
Darius Bazley came off the bench for the Lakers and made an immediate impact with his two-way player. He also got in on the action from deep to complete a really active first quarter, although L.A. still trailed 25-22 after one.
Bronny James and Cole Swider led the way in the Lakers’ win over the Miami Heat, but they both got off to slow starts in this one. Swider eventually got going early in the second quarter with seven quick points. He provided much of the Lakers’ offense in the second quarter until James got in on the action with a driving layup.
Meanwhile, David Jones-Garcia made all four of his first-half shots to lead the Spurs with 12 points and head into the locker room with a 47-42 lead.
It was a slow start to the third quarter for the Lakers, although Bazley brought them some energy with a thunderous dunk. Outside of Bazley though, L.A. struggled to find offense with the San Antonio lead growing to double digits.
Bazley was doing everything on the court but despite his valiant effort, the Lakers still trailed 68-57 at the end of the third.
If the Lakers were gonna mount any sort of comeback then it would’ve had to come early in the fourth quarter. After going down by 12, Bazley got to the free throw line, and Knecht wound up catching fire late to get his team within three with two minutes to play.
Knecht then hit a pair of free throws and a triple to cut the deficit to one. With a chance to take the lead, he drove to the basket but missed a layup, although Bazley was there to clean it up with a go-ahead dunk. The Lakers then got a stop to close out the impressive comeback victory.
Bazley wound up leading all scorers with 27 points in the loss, filling up the statsheet with 13 rebounds, two assists and a block on 8-of-10 shooting. Knecht came alive late and finished with 25 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-18 shooting.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now head to the Las Vegas Summer League, starting with a highly anticipated matchup against Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday evening.
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