DES MOINES, IA – The South Bay Lakers picked up their second road win of the season as they beat the Iowa Wolves, 119-99. Los Angeles Lakers assignee Ivica Zubac led the way with a G League career high 23 points on 10-11 shooting in his first game of the year with the team. Iowa (1-4) was led by former Laker Anthony Brown, who scored a game-high 31 points.
The Lakers (4-1) had their best shooting performance of the year as they shot 58.4% from the field and 52.2% from beyond the arc. The Lakers also dominated the battle in the paint as they outscored the Wolves 58-34 and out-rebounded Iowa 44-34.
In the first quarter, Zubac scored seven quick points, while Travis Wear added six of his own to give the Lakers the slight edge, 28-25. Brown paced the Wolves in the first quarter with seven points. The Lakers extended their lead by halftime, 57-50, behind a strong shooting performance (22-39, 56.4%) and an efficient performance by Zubac who had 13 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field by halftime.
By the end of the third, the Lakers were firmly in control and held a 15-point lead. Lakers assignee Josh Hart found his stroke in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his 19 points in the final frame, to start his G League career with a win.
The Wolves were led by Brown (31 points, six rebounds, three assists) and Michael Bryson (22 points, five rebounds), while Elijah Milsap, another alum of the South Bay franchise, added 19 points for Iowa. Amile Jefferson grabbed 12 rebounds to go with his nine points but the Wolves could not find their shot as they shot only 39.5% from the field.
Zubac (23 points, nine rebounds, three assists) and Hart (19 points, five rebounds) handled the brunt of the scoring load for South Bay, while three other Lakers scored in double figures: Wear (17 points, eight rebounds), Scott Machado (15 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Alex Caruso (14 points, eight assists).
The South Bay Lakers will now travel south to face the Austin Spurs on Saturday, November 18 at 5:00. The Lakers beat the Spurs, 110-82, in their first meeting of the season on November 11.
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), returns 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.
