The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court for more Las Vegas Summer League action on Wednesday night, taking on the Atlanta Hawks. Unfortunately, both team were without their first-round picks as Dalton Knecht and Zaccharie Risacher sat this game out after playing heavy minutes in every other game this summer.
Both teams came in looking for their first win, but only one would get it. That ended up being the Lakers as they came back late to earn an 87-86 win.
Bronny James, who has struggled so far this summer, got things started in this one with a pure midrange jumper. The Lakers’ ball movement was fantastic early and they were locked in defensively to jump out to a quick 12-2 lead.
The Hawks responded with an 8-0 run, however, before Colin Castleton made a layup to get his team back on track. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers held a slim 21-20 lead.
Mohamed Diarra had a nice start to the second quarter with five straight points for L.A. The Hawks had a nice response to take their first lead, although James then had a crafty layup to put the Lakers back in front. Bronny then hit a triple, his first of Summer League after missing his first 15 attempts, and L.A. went into the halftime locker room with a 44-41 lead.
Atlanta came out hot to begin the third quarter, drilling three 3s in a row to regain the lead and force a Lakers timeout.
After the Hawks extended their lead to double digits, Blake Hinson did his part to get the Lakers back in it by knocking down three 3-pointers in a row. After a strong close to the quarter by Atlanta though, L.A. still had some work to do going into the fourth quarter with a 72-63 deficit.
Hinson continued to be the Lakers’ main source of offense in the fourth with a couple of buckets. James then hit a triple from the corner to tie the game at 79 going into the final couple minutes.
Castleton then did work on the offensive glass for a pair of buckets, including an and-one to put the Lakers ahead. He then had a big block on defense and another layup, helping close the game out for L.A.
The Hawks had a chance to win it at the buzzer but the Lakers locked in defensively to hold on for the victory.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers Summer League team will return to the court on Thursday night in the second of a back-to-back, taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers. L.A. will then have one final game on either Saturday or Sunday to close out the Summer League.
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