Lonzo Ball and Lakers cruise past Cleveland Cavaliers into round of 8:
Behind another Lonzo Ball triple-double, the Lakers are moving on to the Summer League quarterfinals. They took care of business on Thursday night, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 94-83. The offense had production from a handful of players, and they found their flow for the second straight night. Lakers will next face the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
The Lakers focus to this point have been getting out in transition and allowing Ball to find open teammates to create offense. Kyle Kuzma continues to be the main beneficiary from this game plan. He understands if he runs the court, he’ll find the ball in his hand. Kuzma finished tonight with 20 points, on 7-of-14 shooting, including four more three pointers. To this point in his early career, he feels more like a lottery pick than like the late first rounder he is.
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Lonzo Ball admitted to having some fatigue in his first couple games back to begin SL. With his last 5-on-5 action coming some months back at UCLA. He’s finally up to full speed, and the results are showing. Coming off a performance yesterday in which he scored 36 points, and had 11 dimes against the Sixers, he kept the momentum going tonight.
In all, Ball finished the night with 16 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds. It’s worth noting that no player has ever recorded a triple-double in the Summer League prior to this year, and Ball now has two in only six games. Despite the shooting struggles, he continues to get shots up, gets teammates involved, and feels confident in doing so.
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Alex Caruso, recently signed to a two-way contract by the Lakers, continued to make hustle plays and finished his night with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Just a couple nights ago, he led the Lakers with 18 points and 9 assists against the Sacramento Kings. He will be a fascinating player to watch throughout the season, seeing where he ultimately ends up.
Another bright spot tonight was reigning G-league scoring champion, Vander Blue (Veezy), who poured in 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. It’s yet to be seen what his role with the Lakers will be going forward. Ivica Zubac showed some improvements and wound up with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Look for Lonzo Ball and the Lakers to continue their Summer League success heading into their weekend showdown with the Brooklyn Nets. Will Ball record his third triple-double?
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