Summer League: Lakers finish cold, lose 70-62 to Cavs

If you were looking for an offensive thriller, this Las Vegas Summer League game was not for you. In the first game of Summer League, the Lakers fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 62-70. It was a sloppy game for both teams — Cleveland had 16 turnovers to the Lakers 15. Along with being sloppy, neither team shot well. The Cavaliers shot 5-25 from three (20 percent) and 39.4 percent from the field, while the Lakers shot 6-28 from three (21.4 percent) and 31.8 percent from the field.

While it wasn’t a very entertaining game, there were still some things to take away from it. The first thing I noticed was Marcus Landry’s shot. He was 3-8 from three and 5-7 from the free throw line. I was a bit iffy on him making the Lakers roster, but since the Lakers could use the depth and outside shooting, I can definitely see him getting an invite to camp. The other player I liked tonight was Michael Snaer. As I just said, the Lakers could use some depth, and Snaer could provide that. His six rebounds were a nice compliment to his 12 points on 4-9 shooting.

To begin the game, the Lakers played some great defense, only allowing 10 total points in the first quarter, and 13 in the second. That didn’t last the whole game, however. After playing good defense in the first half, the Lakers gave up 24 points in the third quarter — more than they gave up in the whole first half — and 23 in the fourth. The Lakers were never able to take the lead back in the fourth quarter.

For the Lakers, Marcus Landry led the way with 14 points, followed by Michael Snaer’s 12. Landry made his biggest mark in the 3rd quarter, where he poured in 10 of those points. However, he was scoreless the rest of the game, going hand in hand with the Lakers cold finish. Elias Harris was also active, chipping in 9 points and 8 rebounds.

For the Cavs, Jermaine Taylor led the way with 17 points, followed by Tyler Zeller’s 15 and Carrick Felix’s 14. Zeller also grabbed 7 boards, while Felix pulled down 6 himself. No other Cav scored more than 7 points despite 9 total Cavs players scoring.

The Lakers will next be in action Sunday when they battle the Portland TrailBlazers summer league team at 6:30 Eastern.

Los Angeles Lakers Leaders: 

Points: Marcus Landry, 14; Rebounds: Elias Harris, 8; Assists: Josh Selby, 3; Steals: Selby, 3; Blocks: Chris Douglas-Roberts, 2.

Cleveland Cavaliers Leaders: 

Points: Jermaine Taylor, 17; Rebounds: Tyler Zeller, 7; Assists: Dion Waiters and Matthew Dellavedova, 5; Steals: Dellavedova, 2; Blocks: Carrick Felix, 2.