Coming into tonight’s quarterfinal showdown, the Lakers and Warriors were about as evenly matched statistically as possible, leaving fans to anticipate a showdown to wrap up Saturday’s summer league action. To say the two squads lived up to expectations would be an understatement.
Jul 14, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Lazar Hayward gives a pat on the back to teammate Laker forward Chris Douglas-Roberts during a stoppage in play between Los Angeles and the Portland Trailblazers NBA Summer League game at the Thomas and Mack. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Despite trailing by double digits, the Warriors rallied in the second half and survived a late run by the Lakers to hang on to a 83-77 victory, eliminating L.A. from the summer league tournament. Led by Kent Bazemore’s 26 points, the Warriors outscored the Lakers 27-19 in the 4th quarter to lengthen their impressive summer league win streak to 12 (dating back to July 2010). Even with four of the Lakers starting five finishing in double figures, the Lakers couldn’t hold on to a lead they held for the better part of the first three quarters.
Elias Harris put up his best effort of the summer league as he finished with 17 points on 7 for 13 shooting, including 2 of 5 from deep. Hudson led the way in scoring with 18 points with 3 threes and 4 steals. Marcus Landry and Chris Douglas-Roberts, both essentially locks for training camp invites, added 14 and 12 points respectively.
After finishing the first quarter in a 16-16 tie. the Lakers broke the game open in the second by outscoring the Warriors 27-17 to take a 43-33 lead into the break. The Lakers kept their foot on the throttle to open the third quarter, pushing the lead to 51-40 on a Harris driving layup. However, from that point forward, the Warriors outscored the Lakers 43-26 over the final 18 minutes to seal the victory.
Cameron Jones provided a nice spark for the Warriors as he finished with 18 points. Draymond Green suffered through a subpar shooting night and finished with just 12 points on 5-18 shooting. Green did find other ways to contribute, pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists.
As has been the reoccurring theme through summer league play, the Lakers bench let them down, failing to sustain the lead built by the starters and allowing big Warriors runs. After a solid start in the summer league, Michael Snaer finished off his fade into obscurity with an 0-3 outing. Despite Hayward’s 7 points and 5 rebounds, his +/- of -12 is far more indicative of his play during the game. Selby mirrored his +/- figure with a -12 himself, finishing with 0 points on 0-4 shooting. In total, the Lakers four players off the bench totaled 10 points on 3 of 16 shooting. Travis Hyman was the lone bright spot on the evening off the bench as he made a host of highlight reel blocks, 5 in total.
The struggle of the bench members further solidifies the great performance from the starters, who shot a combined 50% from the field and made 9 three pointers. Of the five-man unit, only Hudson is likely not to be invited to Lakers training camp, with Robert Sacre an obvious guarantee. We’ll provide further in-depth coverage on the players themselves in the coming days, detailing which players shined brightest this summer and who disappointed most.