SOUTH BAY LAKERS MEDIA RELATIONS, EL SEGUNDO, CA– The South Bay Lakers grabbed their third win of the season as seven Lakers scored in double figures, led by Thomas Bryant with 15 points, to defeat the Spurs, 110-82, and remain unbeaten. South Bay (3-0) held Austin (3-2) to 37.2 percent shooting in a game that saw the Lakers grab a season-best 49 rebounds, dish out 29 assists and lead by as many as 37 points.
South Bay got out to a comfortable lead in the first quarter, 30-17, behind a strong defensive performance, and maintained their edge throughout the game. By halftime, the Lakers led 52-32 as Austin hit only 12 of 41 from the field.
In the first half, the Lakers were led by a trio of nine-point scorers in Alex Caruso, Travis Wear and Stephen Zimmerman. Olivier Hanlan of the Spurs had 12 points of his own to keep his team within striking distance.
However, the Lakers made sure that they would not fall victim to a Spurs comeback and it was Bryant who scored 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter to all but guarantee a South Bay victory. In the fourth quarter, Stephaun Branch put on a show, scoring all 11 of his points, in his best performance of the season and the Lakers walked off victorious once again.
The Spurs were led by Hanlan’s 17 points and five rebounds, but on the second night of a back-to-back, the Spurs just could not find their shot. Jaron Blossomgame added 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Nick Johnson (11 points, three rebounds, three assists), Jeff Ledbetter (10 points, four assists) and Livio Jean-Charles (10 points, three rebounds) also scored in double-figures for the Spurs.
Bryant (15 points, five rebounds), Caruso (11 points, nine assists) and Wear (12 points, eight rebounds, four assists) paced the Lakers with their all-around performances, while every Laker that saw the floor got in on the scoring action. Stephen Zimmerman (13 points, five rebounds) was perfect from the field (5-5) and Andre Ingram (5-6, 13 points) was a sharpshooter in his own right. V.J. Beachem added 10 points and Branch tallied 11 points and eight rebounds in the balanced team performance. Robert Heyer (five points, five rebounds) and Michael Holyfield (six points, four rebounds) saw their first action of the season in the win.
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The South Bay Lakers return to action tomorrow for the second game of a back-to-back when they face the Texas Legends at 5:00 from the UCLA Health Training Center.
The NBA G League’s South Bay Lakers, the first franchise in G League history to be owned by an NBA team (Los Angeles Lakers), will return for its 11th season of competition in 2017-18. The Lakers franchise has established itself as a top producer of NBA-ready talent, totaling 26 NBA Call-Ups and developing 19 Lakers assignment players since the inaugural 2006-07 season.
Last season, the Lakers returned to the playoffs for the third time in the last four years and produced the league MVP in guard Vander Blue. The Lakers have claimed three division titles and have twice competed in the NBA G League Finals, most recently in 2015-16.