The Los Angeles Lakers opened up Summer League play on Monday afternoon, taking on the Miami Heat in the first game of the California Classic at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Thanks to some hot shooting from Miami, the Lakers fell down early and ultimately suffered a 107-90 defeat.
It was predictably an ugly start for both teams on the offensive end, although Max Christie helped get the Lakers going with a nice take to the rim for a bucket and then a steal on the other end, tying the game at six. Christie is looking to show he has made leaps from a season ago to earn a rotation spot on the Lakers in the regular season, and he got off to a nice start showing what he can do on both ends.
The Heat had a returning player of their own in Nikola Jovic though, and the former first-round pick was tough to guard inside for L.A. as Miami rattled off six straight points before another bucket by Christie.
Two of the Lakers’ rookies, Colin Castelton and Maxwell Lewis, made an immediate impact off the bench although Orlando Robinson beat the first quarter buzzer with a triple to give the Heat a 22-16 lead.
Another Heat first-round pick in Jaime Jaquez got going early in the second quarter, including a poster dunk on Castelton to give Miami its first double-digit lead. Despite a pair of 3-pointers from Cole Swider, the Heat continued to extend their lead and were up 58-40 at halftime.
Christie scored four straight points for the Lakers to begin the second half, but defensively L.A. still struggled to keep Miami out of the paint.
A good sign was seeing Jalen Hood-Schifino get going in the third quarter after struggling in the first half. Not only did he make some nice plays for others, but he also was attacking the basket for some easy layups. Despite the flashes though, the Lakers still trailed 84-67 through three quarters.
Part of why the Lakers were unable to make a dent into their deficit is because they struggled from 3-point range while the Heat continued to stay hot. Outside of Swider, none of the Lakers could really get going from deep.
The fourth quarter was much of the same as the Lakers and Heat both rested their starters for most of it with the game out of hand.
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