Down seven rotation players, the Lakers did their best impression of the Kings as they were blown out by the Warriors on Tuesday, 124-98.
Along with the same four players who missed Monday’s game, LA also sat Luka Dončić, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle. The result was a pretty barebones roster, by preseason standards, that was immediately overwhelmed by a Golden State side playing its starters.
The game began with Brandin Podziemski getting fouled from behind the arc for a four-point play. It
led to coach JJ Redick calling a timeout less than a minute into the game.
LA fell behind by nine as they struggled to find offense.
Bronny James got Los Angeles on the board with a jump shot. Sando rectified his earlier missed shot by scoring seven points. Golden State’s rookie Yaxel Lendeborg was cooking with five points.
As expected, the Lakers continued to struggle. They did get some decent bench production from Jaden Hardy Cameron Carr with six and five points, respectively.
Still, LA was down by 14 at the end of the first.
Podz opened the second period with an easy layup. Quentin Grimes helped jump start the offense by scoring five points, giving him eight in total. After a triple from Mamu, the Warriors called a timeout as their lead shrank to 14.
Out of the break, Podz scored on another easy layup. He continued to cook for Golden State, adding another four points.
It was Lendeborg, though, who was leading Golden State with 15 points. Adou Thiero was fouled during a massive highlight play, dunking the ball with authority before completing the 3-point play.
Golden State was still up big with five minutes left in the half.
After a triple, Grimes now had 11 points. He was one of only two players for Los Angeles, Mamu the other, in double figures.
Steph Curry completed his second four-point play. He ended the half with 16 points, going 3-6 from behind the arc. At halftime, the purple and gold were down by 28.
Mamu picked up his first assist of the night, passing to Thiero for a dunk to open the third period. He scored two more soon after, bringing his total to seven before knocking down his third triple.
Both teams played chaotic, sloppy basketball as the benches got most of the playing time. Hardy did get into double figures with 10 points, a nice spark off the bench despite the rough score.
At the end of the third, the Lakers were down by 21.
The final frame was mostly cardio. We did get some Cole Swider minutes, as he made three of his four attempts from behind the arc, finishing with nine points. Chris Mañon scored four points and Dalton Knecht had extended minutes to end the night with seven points.
Key Player Stats
Mamu finished with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists. Grimes ended with 12 points and three assists. Hardy had 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.
Carr pitched in five points and two steals. Thiero tallied seven points with four rebounds. Bronny scored four points with five assists. Jake LaRavia had nine points with three rebounds and three steals.
The Lakers’ next preseason matchup will be against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday at 7:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
