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The Los Angeles Lakers’ slow start to Summer League play officially got ugly in Thursday’s 77-71 loss to the now 3-0 Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles continued its California Classic trend of sloppy starts, shooting 5-16 from the field as a team and trailing Golden State 20-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Rookie big man Moritz Wagner, who unleashed a gorgeous three-pointer, steal and assist sequence in the opening quarter, kept the Lakers afloat during a second quarter in which Los Angeles trailed by as much as 15 points.
Moe for pick & pop 3, and then the steal plus leading the break... Rare center skills... pic.twitter.com/eDMbUwFZvX
— Reed (@Reed_nba) July 5, 2018
Despite Wagner’s best efforts, including 12 points on 5-8 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal, Los Angeles’ 11 first-half turnovers kept the team behind Golden State 43-37 heading into halftime.
Omari Johnson, the 29-year-old forward and graduate of Los Angeles’ Dorsey High who briefly played for the Grizzlies last season, led the Warriors with 13 points after two quarters of play.
For the Lakers, Thursday’s game against the Warriors may as well have been Tuesday’s game versus the Miami Heat after the team’s fist half woes failed to be ironed out in the second. Los Angeles, battling back from a deficit that climbed as high as 17 points, went on a 10-3 run to end the third quarter but still trailed Golden State 63-53.
Ultimately doomed by the team’s 23 total turnovers, the Lakers fell to 0-3 in the California Classic in Thursday’s 77-71 loss to the Warriors.
Marcus Derrickson shined brightest for Golden State, with the 22-year-old former Georgetown Hoya netting a monstrous 24 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes of play. Elijah Brown, the son of a guy named Mike who once coached the Lakers and now is on staff with Golden State, provided some solid second half scoring for the Warriors with 8 points on 3-5 shooting.
Moe Wagner’s 13 point, 12 rebound double-double served as a promising bounce-back from a disappointing outing in Tuesday’s game against Miami. Los Angeles will next play on July 7th, with the team heading to Vegas for a match-up against the Philadelphia 76ers.