After going winless in the California Classic, the Los Angeles Lakers opened up Las Vegas Summer League play on Friday evening against the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets’ roster features a ton of lottery-caliber talent while the Lakers’ doesn’t, naturally resulting in a 99-80 loss for L.A. The Lakers are now 0-4 to begin Summer League play.
Bronny James got off to a nice start in this one with a layup and a pair of free throws o put the Lakers up 11-10 early. Both teams were putting on a highlight show to start with Maxwell Lewis and AJ Griffin both throwing down thunderous dunks.
Dalton Knecht then drained a triple and found James for a dunk as one of his three assists in the first quarter with the game being tied at 26 going into the second quarter.
The Lakers’ offense slowed down a bit to begin the second as they struggled to score outside of the paint. Meanwhile, Reed Sheppard was hot for the Rockets to give them their first double-digit lead.
A big reason for that Rockets run was Knecht being on the bench, and he drained his first 3 after returning. He then had a slick turnaround fadeaway midrange jumper. After a bucket by Whitmore though, the Lakers went into the halftime locker room trailing 54-45.
Sheppard stayed hot in the third quarter as he hit a pair of deep triples to extend Houston’s lead. The talent gap continued to show from there with Whitmore driving for a thunderous dunk and some free throws to put his team up 17.
Knecht continued to be the only source of offense for the Lakers in the third quarter and as a result, they trailed 80-61 going into the fourth.
The final quarter was much of the same as the Rockets continued to extend their lead. James struggled from the field with some easy misses, which was a microcosm of the Lakers’ offense as a team.
To his credit, Knecht continued battling and hit another triple, flashing what he is capable of and why the Lakers were so high on him after drafting the 23-year-old in the first round. He led his team with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go along with six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.
Up next for the Lakers
The Lakers continue Summer League play in Las Vegas on Monday when they take on the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. PT, looking to snap the four-game losing skid.
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