Even though the Lakers haven’t had any draft picks the last two years, they still found a way to have a productive summer as they went 3-3 in their first six games between the California Classic in Sacramento and Las Vegas Summer League.
Under the new Las Vegas Summer League rules, there are no playoffs, just a championship game between the two undefeated teams with the best point differentials. Considering the Lakers went 2-2, they did not qualify for the championship, so they were given one final exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday afternoon at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Warriors opted to sit out their best player, No. 7 overall pick Jonathan Kuminga. The Lakers took full advantage of that, coming away with a come-from-behind 84-76 victory to mark an end to their summer.
Things didn’t get off to a great start for the Lakers from the jump as the Warriors immediately jumped out to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter. They were led by 2020 second-round pick Justinian Jessup, who had 13 first-quarter points, knocking down three of his four 3-point attempts.
The Lakers closed the quarter strong though, including a pair of highlight dunks from Trevelin Queen and Austin Reaves, to cut their deficit to 22-17 through one quarter.
That run continued into the second quarter, with Reaves continuing to make some nice plays offensively to give the Lakers their first lead. That lead was short-lived, however, as the Warriors closed the half on a 15-4 lead to take a 42-33 lead into the locker room.
The Warriors’ run continued into the third quarter as they increased their lead to 17 midway through, and if it were not for Queen, they likely would have cruised to a blowout victory.
Queen continued to put in work on both ends the get the Lakers back in it though, including a pair of threes early in the fourth to get the deficit back to single digits.
From there, other Lakers players like Chaundee Brown and Tres Tinkle got involved in the action with some threes to give L.A. the lead once again late in the fourth. Queen then made a late layup to put the finishing touches on his brilliant game, putting it out of reach.
Now that the Summer League is over, it will be interesting to see if the Lakers give out any more Exhibit 10 contracts to their players. They have already done so with Mac McClung and Brown in addition to signing Reaves and Joel Ayayi to two-way contracts.
Queen was the most impressive this summer that’s not already signed, so look for him to potentially be added to the list in the near future.
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