The Los Angeles Lakers’ run through the 2026 NBA Summer League ended Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas, as the Golden State Warriors edged them 92–88 in the semifinals at Thomas & Mack Center. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak and denied the Lakers a shot at revenge against the same Warriors team that blew them out to open the summer.
That opening loss came in the California Classic on July 3, when Golden State’s Warriors Gold squad throttled the Lakers 104–72 behind 19 points from No. 11 pick Yaxel Lendeborg. The Lakers regrouped, closed out the Classic with a win over San Antonio, then rolled off four straight victories in Las Vegas over Oklahoma City, Dallas, the Clippers, and Chicago to reach the semifinal.
Fans who like to play at an online casino and track summer league prop bets watched the line on this rematch shift throughout the week, as Los Angeles built momentum with increasingly lopsided wins before running into Lendeborg again.
Saturday’s game never let either side pull away. Golden State jumped out 21–19 after the first quarter, but Arthur Kaluma beat the buzzer with a shot that trimmed the deficit. Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero both threw down transition dunks early, setting an athletic tone that continued all afternoon. Carr took a hard fall in the second quarter and appeared to injure his elbow, but he returned minutes later and finished the frame with a highlight-reel lob. Zhaire Smith, AK Okereke, and Kaluma all converted three-point plays as the Lakers matched Golden State basket for basket. The teams traded the lead 12 times in the first half alone, and it was tied at 42 heading into the break.
The third quarter belonged to Thiero. He soared for an alley-oop off a feed from Chris Mañon, then beat the shot clock with a three-point play that pushed the Lakers ahead by six. Golden State answered with a 7–0 run to briefly retake the lead, but Los Angeles closed the quarter on top, 66–63.
Warriors Close It Out In The Fourth
Golden State opened the fourth quarter with an 8–0 run and never trailed again. The Warriors got hot from outside down the stretch, and Graham Ike and LJ Cryer each finished with 16 points to pace the winning side. Carr answered with a three-pointer to slow the bleeding, and Thiero added another dunk plus a rare corner three to keep the Lakers within striking distance. Kaluma absorbed a hard foul that officials upgraded to a Flagrant 1, and Los Angeles clawed back to within one point in the final minute on a string of free throws.
The finish belonged to Golden State. Thiero and Mañon turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions, and Mañon missed a free throw after getting fouled on a three-point attempt that could have tied the score. Lendeborg, who scored seven of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, sank two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal it, and the Warriors forced one final turnover to close out the win.
Breakout Summer For The Young Core
Thiero finished with a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds, along with three steals in the semifinal. He entered the day as one of the summer’s biggest storylines after a wrist injury slowed him in the California Classic. He shook it off in Las Vegas, opening group play with 20 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks against Oklahoma City and racking up a team-high nine steals across four appearances.
Kaluma, a 24-year-old two-way forward out of the G League’s South Bay Lakers, closed his summer schedule as the team’s leading scorer at roughly 20 points per game, highlighted by a 34-point outburst against Dallas that included six made threes. Carr, the Lakers’ No. 24 pick in this year’s draft, added 17 points in the semifinal and averaged 17 points in the summer while flashing a smooth outside stroke that caught the attention of broadcasters covering the Las Vegas slate.
What It Means Going Forward
The Lakers finish Summer League with a 6–2 record and enter training camp with real questions about their wing rotation answered, at least in part, by what Thiero, Carr, and Kaluma showed in Las Vegas. The roster for the JJ Redick-coached team this fall looks different than the one that took the floor a year ago. Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Jaden Hardy, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, and Kevon Looney are all part of the plan, while Deandre Ayton has moved on to Washington. None of the summer league performers is likely to crack the rotation immediately, but a strong showing in Las Vegas builds a case for training camp minutes and two-way roster spots.
Golden State moves on to face Memphis, which beat Houston in the other semifinal, in the championship game Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN. For the Lakers, the scoreboard read Warriors 92, Lakers 88, but the bigger story of this summer was a young core that improved by the day and gave Los Angeles plenty to build on before camp opens.
