The Los Angeles Lakers will not go winless in the Las Vegas Summer League as they picked up their first victory on Wednesday night, hanging on to beat the Atlanta Hawks, 87-86.
Both teams were missing their first-round picks as No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher sat out for the Hawks while Dalton Knecht didn’t play for the Lakers. Knecht had been L.A.’s leading scorer this summer by far.
That meant others needed to step up for the Lakers though, and guys like Bronny James, Colin Castleton and Blake Hinson did just that.
A lot has been made about Bronny’s struggles this summer, but he was able to get into a rhythm in this one after knocking down his first shot to begin the game.
He wound up finishing with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 2-of-5 from deep. He came into the game 0-for-15 from 3-point range this summer so it was good to see him get it going.
It was Castleton who led the way down low with a monster game for the Lakers though. He led all scorers with 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals, getting it done on both ends of the floor.
The Lakers brought Castleton back on a two-way contract this summer and given their uncertainty at the center position, he may get a chance at actual minutes with the parent team if he can play like this.
One of the Lakers’ other two-way players, rookie Blake Hinson, also had his best game of the summer. After going scoreless in the first half and seeing the Lakers blow an early double-digit lead, he took matters into his own hands in the second half.
Hinson had 14 points off the bench in the second half, knocking down four triples to erase Atlanta’s double-digit lead in the third quarter.
The Lakers almost blew the game late with a pair of turnovers when they were up four in the final minute. The Hawks had a chance to win it at the buzzer down by one but the Lakers locked in defensively and didn’t even allow them to get a shot off to complete the victory.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers Summer League team will return to the court on Thursday night in the second of a back-to-back, taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers. L.A. will then have one final game on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls to close out the Summer League.
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