The Lakers booked their ticket to the Las Vegas Summer League Semifinals with a blowout win over the Chicago Bulls, 105-82, on Thursday afternoon.
Chris Mañon continues to shine with his strong play. He has scored in double figures for three straight games. Cameron Carr’s offense has been a huge bright spot for this young Summer League squad. He has also been consistently scoring in double figures, making a strong case to be in the Lakers’ rotation when the season starts.
Carr scored the first bucket
for LA. It was also another fast start for Mañon, who scored four points early. All of Los Angeles’s starters, minus Adou Thiero, scored. Three players on the Bulls scored two points for their six in total. After a timeout, Thiero got on the board with an emphatic putback dunk.
The Lakers built a lead of six, but Chicago cut into it, making it a two-point game. Arthur Kaluma came in and drained a triple to give the team a small cushion on their lead. Los Angeles was shooting 35% from the field, while the Bulls were shooting 41%.
At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by three.
Carr started the second period with a steal that led to Jon Elmore draining a 3-pointer for LA. Chicago’s Jaylin Sellers and Caleb Wilson both had thunderous dunks that gave everyone a jolt. Carr was leading Los Angeles with seven points, and Elmore was close behind with six.
The Bulls called a timeout with 4:21 left as they fell behind by nine. Zhaire Smith now had six off the bench for the Lakers. LA kept their feet on the gas pedal, expanding their lead to 16 into halftime. Mañon was the only Laker in double figures with 10.
Los Angeles had a balanced scoring attack with everyone who saw minutes, minus Peter Suder, scoring.
Both teams started the third period chippy and aggressive. They ended the first half with some words for each other that clearly carried into the second half. Anton Watson started the scoring for LA with a layup.
The Lakers completely took the Bulls out of the game with their strong defense, forcing Chicago to struggle offensively. Carr and Thiero were in double figures with 14 and 11, respectively. Wilson scored the last 10 points for the Bulls, but it didn’t matter as LA built a lead of 29 at the end of the third.
AK Okereke started the final frame, converting a three-point play, further extending Los Angeles’ lead. The rest of the quarter saw the Lakers cruise to their eventual victory. Robbie Avila also made his Summer League debut during the closing minutes.
Key Player Stats:
Mañon ended with 16 points and six rebounds. Carr finished with 14 points and three rebounds. Thiero notched 11 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Elmore logged 11 points with five assists. Smith had 11 points with two rebounds and three assists. Kaluma scored 14 points with four rebounds and three assists. Watson pitched in with eight points and four assists.
The next Lakers Summer League game will be in the semifinals, with information about that contest to be released later.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
