After a solid 2-1 performance in the California Classic, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to continue that momentum when they took on the Oklahoma City Thunder to kick off Las Vegas Summer League play at Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night.
The Lakers ultimately were able to do exactly that with an impressive two-way performance to begin their slate in the desert with a 96-84 win over the Thunder.
William Hickey had a pair of early buckets to get the Lakers off to a nice start, while Cameron Carr drove and drew a foul on Thunder lottery pick Aday Mara.
Carr had an impressive first quarter with seven points and two blocks. Adou Thiero also threw down a thunderous alley-oop as the Lakers led 22-21 going into the second.
AK Okereke was making an impact on both sides of the ball as he had an impressive block on Mara and then a finish on the other end. Peter Suder then connected from deep to keep the Lakers in front.
It was a strong close to the first half for L.A. as they were locked in defensively. That allowed them to get out in transition, where Thiero threw down two more massive dunks, including a windmill. Anton Watson also had a strong first half with a pair of triples, giving the Lakers a 53-43 lead going into the break.
The Lakers came out on first to begin the third quarter as Carr scored five straight points and then Watson hit another 3. L.A.’s dunk contest continued as Thiero had another, and then Carr caught an alley-oop from Chris Mañon to continue extending the lead.
The end of the third quarter was all Thiero as he was dominating on both sides of the ball. He had a great block and then finished back-to-back buckets in the paint, including a buzzer-beater to put his team up 86-66 going into the fourth quarter.
Thiero continued to dominate for the Lakers with yet another dunk in the fourth quarter. From there, the Lakers were able to coast to the impressive victory despite a late push by the Thunder.
There is not much time to celebrate this one, however, as the team will be back in action on Saturday night in the second of a back-to-back.
Lakers Las Vegas Summer League schedule & TV info
Saturday, July 11: Mavericks at 7 p.m. PT on ESPN
Tuesday, July 14: Clippers at 7 p.m. on Amazon Prime
Thursday, July 16: Bulls at 3 p.m. on Amazon Prime
Fifth game: TBD
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