The Los Angeles Lakers opened up Summer League play on Saturday afternoon, taking on the Sacramento Kings in the California Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco.
It marked the Lakers debuts of Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, who started alongside Maxwell Lewis, Sean East II and Colin Castleton. It was easy to see that it was their first time playing together though, and the result was a 108-94 loss to the Kings.
Lewis, who was a 2023 second-round pick of the Lakers and has a lot of potential, got his team off to a nice start with six early points. The Kings responded with an 11-0 run, however, with L.A. missing some easy looks inside.
While Lewis tried to keep the Lakers in it with 10 first-quarter points, everyone else continued to struggle and the Kings led 23-18.
Lakers two-way rookie Blake Hinson and Armel Traore looked good to begin the second and then James scored his points on a layup to tie it. The Kings again responded with another run though with some impressive 3-point shooting and went into the half leading 47-41. Knecht and James both struggled from the field in the first half, combining to shoot just 2-of-13.
Lewis picked up where he left off to begin the third quarter and then Castleton connected from deep, something he recently told us he has been working on.
Adonis Arms was the standout player for the Kings as he continued to score with ease to keep his team in front. With the Lakers continuing to struggle, the Kings ended the third quarter on another run to take a 79-66 lead.
Tommy Kuhse did a nice job leading an 8-0 run for the Lakers early in the fourth to keep the game from getting out of reach. Hinson also stayed hot from deep, showing off his unlimited range with two in a row.
Ultimately though, Arms and the Kings closed the game out with another run and the Lakers would go on to suffer the loss.
In their first Summer League games as Lakers, James and Knecht both struggled. Bronny finished with four points, two rebounds, two assist and a steal on 2-of-9 shooting while Knecht had 12 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals on 3-of-12 shooting.
There were some Lakers that looked good though as Hinson had 17 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from deep. Kuhse had 15 points and eight assists while Lewis had 14 points and Castleton finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers continue play in the California Classic Summer League on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Golden State Warriors at 3:30 p.m. PT.
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