The Los Angeles Lakers were coming off a tough loss to the L.A. Clippers heading into a primetime matchup against the Boston Celtics during Las Vegas Summer League.
The Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, though their game against the Celtics was still another opportunity for some of the young players on the roster to make a case for an NBA contract. Los Angeles got off to a solid start, but a poor second quarter and a brutal injury to Darius Bazley led to a 87-78 loss.
Bronny James has been tearing it up in Las Vegas as the second-year guard has been playing with much more confidence on the floor. Against Boston, James was slow to get going from a scoring standpoint as he opted to look for his teammates instead. For example, James was good at getting the basketball inside to Christian Koloko who was able to finish a few easy dunks.
While it wasn’t always pretty from James as far as playmaking went, he found ways to contribute in the second half via several impressive drives to the rim. James had multiple and-1 plays that involved finishing through contact, an impressive development from someone that still hasn’t found his outside jumper.
Overall, it was another strong performance from James who led all scorers with 18 points. He also recorded five assists, three rebounds and one steal though he did commit eight turnovers.
Koloko finally broke out in Summer League, recording his best two-way game of the event. Koloko got going early thanks to James, though he really did his damage on the defensive end as he was a deterrent at the rim.
Koloko was excellent giving multiple efforts and contesting shots, allowing the Lakers to get out in early transition. As a scorer, Koloko was limited to shots right at the rim though he was efficient as he went 6-of-8 from the field.
Koloko finished the night with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. More importantly, he had five blocks and three steals.
DJ Steward was a solid source of offense, especially when the Lakers were in a drought. The sparkplug guard finished the night with 14 points to go along with five assists, two rebounds and one steal.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will close their 2025 Las Vegas Summer League schedule on Friday against the Denver Nuggets. Afterwards, the players will get a well-deserved break until they need to report to training camp in September.
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