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The Los Angeles Lakers are headed to the Las Vegas Summer League championship game after a 108-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Lonzo Ball set the tone out of the gates and the Lakers never looked back.
Ball got rolling early, draining two three-pointers in the opening minutes as the Lakers established their lead in the first quarter. He finished the opening 10 minutes with 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and no turnovers. Lonzo gave the purple and gold a jolt of momentum they held onto. He ended the night with 16 points and 10 assists, pulled early in the third quarter.
The Mavericks made a push in the fourth quarter, cutting the Lakers’ lead down to one point as the offense stagnated without Ball. A corner three from Matt Thomas in the final two minutes helped seal the deal for LA. Thomas scored 20 points while draining six threes.
Kyle Kuzma continued stomping through Las Vegas, tacking on another 24 points to his summer league total. It was more of what we’ve come to expect from Kuzma, flying up the court in transition, splashing threes and making good basketball plays. Kyle was on fire from deep, draining five of his seven attempts from outside.
Ivica Zubac had a bounce back effort of his own, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter. Dennis Smith, Jr. led the way for Dallas, scoring 21 points.
The Lakers are one win away from the goal they set of winning it all in the desert, a lofty goal that’s 40 solid minutes of hoops from the purple and gold away.