After a few days off, the Los Angeles Lakers hopped on a flight to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in their preseason game on Thursday night.
Although LeBron James and head coach JJ Redick complained about the schedule so far, their trip out east was fruitful as the Lakers picked up their first win of the preseason. Los Angeles beat Milwaukee 107-102, but it wasn’t the starters who led the way. Instead, it was the young members of the bench that came up big in the fourth quarter to change the tide of the game and steal a road victory.
Down by double digits in the fourth quarter, the Lakers looked ready to concede defeat before the reserve group led by Quincy Olivari reeled off an improbable 20-0 run to retake the lead and stun the Bucks. Olivari, an undrafted guard out of Rice, signed an Exhibition 10 deal with Los Angeles after playing for their Summer League team and made a name for himself with his scoring outburst against Milwaukee.
Olivari was everywhere on the floor, flying around defensively and running to get to his preferred offensive spots on the floor. The rookie guard shot the basketball with confidence, launching from deep to kick off the rally. Olivari only played nine minutes, but he scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 3-of-4 from deep to steal the win for the Lakers.
While Olivari was the star of the night, the starting five had another strong outing together. Max Christie drew the start for Austin Reaves who was ruled out with ankle soreness and proved he is going to be a main cog in the rotation during the regular season.
Christie played cool and confident on both ends of the floor and served as a great point of attack defender and floor spacer. Christie finished the night with eight points including a perfect 2-of-2 from distance.
Rui Hachimura led Los Angeles in scoring with 14 points on a solid 6-of-12 shooting. Milkwaukee was keying in on Anthony Davis and James defensively, so Hachimura took advantage of his looks and shot the basketball within the flow of the offense.
James and Davis each had strong outings in their second preseason game, combining for 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Davis also had a strong night defensively, recording three blocks and one steal.
What’s next for Lakers
The Lakers will have another few days off before they take on the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
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