After dropping both of their games at the California Classic, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to start off the Las Vegas Summer League on a high note when they took on the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
They did exactly that, picking up where they left off in the second round of the playoffs with a 103-96 victory at Thomas & Mack Center.
Much like the actual Warriors, their Summer League team came out firing with three straight triples and a pair of easy layups to take an early 13-2 lead.
After a timeout though, Jalen Hood-Schifino had a response for the Lakers by attacking the paint for a bucket and a foul, and then Cole Swider connected from deep.
Maxwell Lewis came off the bench and immediately made an impact with a bucket and a steal, giving L.A. its first lead. After Max Christie drilled a 3 towards the end of the quarter, the Lakers took a 25-22 lead into the second.
The Lakers’ hot shooting continued into the second quarter with Swider, D’Moi Hodge and Damion Baugh all getting in on the action.
Golden State did a nice job of keeping up so the game didn’t get out of hand, even regaining the lead before a Christie three-point play. Christie then finished an absolutely poster dunk, earning some MVP chants as the Lakers went into the halftime locker room with a 50-44 lead. Christie led the way for L.A. with 14 points and four rebounds.
Christie picked up where he left off to begin the second half, drilling a corner triple before Swider hit another 3 of his own to put the Lakers up by double-digits for the first time.
The Lakers eventually took a 78-68 lead into the fourth quarter, hoping to close it out for their first win of the summer. Their 3-point shooting definitely helped as Hodge made another and then Alex Fudge got in on the action.
After the Lakers built their lead to 14 though, they got careless with the ball, leading to five straight Warrior points and a timeout for L.A. Again though, it was Christie that had an answer out of the timeout with another triple. Then once the Warriors got all the way back within six, Swider hit one from the corner to put the game out of reach.
Christie led the way for the Lakers once again, finishing with 22 points, six rebounds and two assists while Swider chipped in 19 points of his own.
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