Lakers suffer a deflating loss against the Grizzlies

After winning their first two games in Las Vegas, the Lakers ended their Summer League title hopes by losing to the Memphis Grizzlies, 100-69 on Friday night.

Heading into the game, L.A. still had a mathematical shot at making the Summer League playoffs but needed a 21-point win in order to qualify. They obviously fell well short of that goal.

With Max Christie ruled out, the Lakers’ offense was completely out of sync to start the game. Memphis jumped out to a 13-0 run and L.A. didn’t convert a field goal until there was 3:30 left in the first.

The Lakers did improve as the first half progressed, but the poor start was too much to overcome as the Grizzlies got great performances across the board to balloon their lead up to 29 by halftime.

There only were a few bright spots for the purple and gold in the second half. LJ Figueroa had an incredible put-back dunk that shook the arena after getting into it with Kenneth Lofton Jr. Figueroa ended up leading all Lakers in scoring with 15 points.

Despite the better effort and energy in the second half, the Lakers never made a significant dent in the deficit to get back into the game, officially putting a deflating end to their summer

Key Takeaways

There were lots of positive moments, but the dream of the baby Lakers winning it all like they did in 2017 came to an end tonight.

Despite the back-to-back losses, there are a few players that have stood out in Vegas.

Christie appears to be above this level of competition, Jalen Hood-Schifino continues to get more comfortable running the offense and Colin Castleton is making a compelling case to earn a roster spot.

The Lakers may not be playing in the semifinals, but they will be playing on Sunday against their hometown rivals the Clippers at 7 p.m. to officially close out their summer league play.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.