For their third and final game of the California Classic Summer League, the Lakers put forth a starting five of Svi Mykhailiuk, Moe Wagner, Alex Caruso, Jonathan Williams, and Demarcus Holland.
Early on, Wagner had a nice play on the break, throwing a one-handed cross-court pass to a streaking Mykhailiuk on the break for an easy two. Warriors guard Josh Magette, who spent time with the Atlanta Hawks and has played for the L.A. D-Fenders (now South Bay Lakers), organized the offense for the other side.
Misses were the story of the game early on, with both sides slowly chipping away at the paint on the rim. Mykhailiuk did hit a pretty jumper at the top of the arc off of a curl, reminding everyone why he was a steal with the 47th pick in the draft.
The Warriors started to get some shots to fall, and by the end of the first, the Lakers trailed, 20-13.
With mostly reserves in on both sides, the game turned into a track meet in the second quarter. It wasn’t always pretty, but at least it was entertaining, though the Warriors were getting the better of most exchanges.
Wagner hustled all over the floor, giving Lakers fans a glimpse of his endearing work ethic, while Caruso showed his craftiness off the dribble to get to the rim.
The Lakers used a 7-0 run to cut into a Warriors’ 15-point lead.
Wagner came up with a nice block late in the quarter but struggled to convert shots at the rim, which was a concern coming out of college but made plays everywhere else to make up for it.
At the half, the Warriors had the lead 43-37.
The Warriors started the second half with seven fast points after a pair of turnovers from the Lakers to push their lead to 13 in less than a minute.
Turnovers continued to trouble the Lakers, who just couldn’t seem to get their offense clicking despite Wagner’s excellence on the boards. They didn’t score until halfway through the third quarter, which sources say is not good.
Jeffrey Carrol had a nice dunk driving don the lane, but that was only the Lakers’ 8th point of the quarter and it came with just under two minutes left.
At the end of the third, the Lakers trailed 63-53.
The Lakers began slowly cutting onto the Warriors lead in the fourrth, led by Wagner and his determination to get to the basket.
Then, turnovers reared their ugly head again and the Warriors pulled back in front. Xavier Rathan-Mayes had a few nice plays attacking the basket but the Lakers couldn’t get back into the game and the Lakers fell 77-71.
Moe Wagner was clearly the player of the game for the Lakers with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks to go along with 2-4 shooting from three.
Next, the Lakers will head to the Las Vegas Summer League where they will take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
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