The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the California Classic on Wednesday evening, taking on the San Antonio Spurs who were without Victor Wembanyama.
After dropping the opener to the Miami Heat, the Lakers were not able to leave Sacramento with a win as they suffered a 109-99 loss despite another stellar game from Max Christie.
Just like the Lakers’ first game, they got off to a slow start in this one as the Spurs led 8-0 before Jalen Hood-Schifino got L.A. on the board with a layup.
Spurs wing Julian Champagnie scored 30 points in his first Summer League game and picked up right where he left off with a trio of triples, including a four-point play to put his team up double digits at 20-10.
Cole Swider had a nice response for the Lakers with three 3-pointers of his own, quickly getting his team back in it. D’Moi Hodge hit a 3 of his own to give the Lakers their first lead, and then Christie attacked the paint for four straight points although former Laker Javante McCoy beat the buzzer to give the Spurs a 29-28 lead after one.
The second quarter featured some nice defense by Maxwell Lewis and Colin Castleton, who used their length to combine for five blocks.
Hood-Schifino was also relentless in attacking the basket, finishing some crafty layups although the Spurs closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 55-50 lead into the locker room.
Christie scored eight straight points for the Lakers to begin the third quarter, knocking down his first two triples of the night to tie the game at 58.
The Lakers continued to have no answer for Champagnie though as he was red-hot from 3, although Swider made another of his own to keep his team within one.
Despite Christie’s two-way brilliance though, the Spurs got hot from deep again to end the third, stretching their lead back to double-digits at 84-71.
Castleton helped get the Lakers back in it with a three-point play early in the fourth quarter before Hood-Schifino hit one from midrange and then a layup to get it down to four.
Malaki Branham took over from there, however, scoring 15 points in a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter to keep the Spurs’ lead comfortable as they eventually closed it out.
Despite the loss, Christie had another great game for the Lakers with 25 points, four rebounds and four assists while Castleton had 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
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