The Los Angeles Lakers continued Las Vegas Summer League play on Thursday night, taking on the rival Boston Celtics at Thomas & Mack Center.
The Lakers were looking to get back on track after going 1-2 in their first three games in Las Vegas, but they were unable to do so, suffering an 87-78 loss.
Bronny James found Christian Koloko to kick off the scoring, and also got the big man off to a nice start as he made his first three shots.
The Celtics jumped out to a 12-7 lead, but the Lakers settled in from there and ripped off six straight points to take their first advantage. James was looking comfortable running the offense while Cole Swider continued his impressive summer when it comes to shooting.
Darius Bazley came off the bench for L.A. and made an impact on both ends of the ball with two blocks and a pair of triples. The Lakers closed the first quarter on a quick 8-2 run to take a 26-21 lead.
L.A.’s energy dipped a bit to start the second quarter and they also struggled to take care of the ball. The Celtics took advantage by ripping off nine straight points to begin the quarter.
Unfortunately, midway through the second quarter, Bazley went down with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. He was carried off in a wheelchair and would not return.
The Lakers continued to struggle greatly offensively without him as the Celtics stretched their run to 16-0 before DJ Steward made a layup to end a long drought. He then hit a triple and another layup to salvage the second quarter and send the Lakers into the halftime locker room facing a 40-35 deficit.
Bronny and Dalton Knecht both got going offensively, and Koloko continued his stellar interior defense early in the third quarter to regain the lead.
That was short-lived, however, as the Celtics caught fire from deep. James tried to keep the Lakers within striking distance with a pair of three-point plays, but Boston opened up a 65-55 lead going into the fourth.
Bronny continued his stellar second half in the fourth quarter, but outside of him, the Lakers couldn’t get enough going offensive to mount a comeback.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers did not qualify for the Las Vegas Summer League playoffs, so they will play one final exhibition game to close out the summer on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets at 7 p.m. PT. Considering it is the second night of a back-to-back and Bazley already got injured, the Lakers may choose to sit some of their key guys in order to get more opportunities for other players that haven’t gotten many looks so far.
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