EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After losing a pair of games in San Diego a few weeks ago, the South Bay Lakers got their revenge Tuesday, with their newest additions leading them to a 127-118 victory over the Clippers at the UCLA Health Training Center.
The Lakers brought out a loaded starting lineup with Bronny James Jr, Nick Smith Jr, Adou Thiero, their latest pickup Dalton Knecht and Drew Timme at the five, all guys that have played at least two games with the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
South Bay’s new personnel proved to be the difference, with Knecht dropping 30 while shooting a blistering 6-10 from deep in his first ever G League game, and Nick Smith Jr scoring 20 points in just his third G League game. Chris Mañon hustled his way to 20 points and four steals as well.
Head Coach Zach Guthrie is accustomed to the constant roster movement, but doesn’t let that change the team’s path.
“The thing that we’re about and we stay with is process driven. We gotta be process driven as an organization, as a team, and individually,” said Guthrie. “It’s about the process, and it’s about getting one percent better every day.”
Guthrie highlighted a great practice the day prior to the game in which the team ‘went live’ or scrimmaged the entire time, battling it out while simultaneously growing closer together through the work.
That camaraderie shone bright in the first quarter, with the Lakers putting up 35 points, led by Knecht with 13 points, including three deep balls.
Knecht was happy to get a chance to play with South Bay, but is keeping his eyes on the main prize.
“It felt good just getting to my spots and getting some good run… Just staying ready, I think is the biggest thing, and just showcasing what I can do,” said Knecht.
It was more of the same in the second, as this time it was Smith Jr. hitting three triples in the quarter to bring his total to 18 at the half, showing off his silky-smooth scoring ability.
The Lakers went into the half winning 67-59, while shooting 9-18 from deep compared to the Clippers 3-16.
The Laker’s trend of recent third quarter woes continued however, when the Clippers jumped out to a 15-6 run. They took their first lead at 83-82 on a triple from Taylor Funk, who was the leading scorer in both of their meetings earlier in the season.
The Clippers outscored South Bay 24-18 in the third, as the Lakers offense sort of stalled. It was often Smith Jr, Knecht or Bufkin trying to make something happen in isolation, to no avail, leaving the door open for SD.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers cleaned things up and were able to separate from San Diego, due in large part to Chris Mañon. He had 10 points in the quarter, and led the team with his scrappy hard-nosed play.
“That’s the Northeast mentality,” said Mañon, the New Jersey native. “For me that’s uncontrollable, diving on the floor, and playing as hard as I can. That’s something I can bring every night, I feel like I have to do it.”
His backcourt mate Kobe Bufkin came up clutch in the fourth with 10 points of his own, putting the game out of reach for the Clippers.
San Diego’s RayJ Dennis and Patrick Baldwin Jr. put on a show, combining for 55 points on the evening. Their starting guard Jason Preston left the game early with an injury and didn’t return.
For all G League teams, this weekend’s pair of games for the Winter Showcase will mark the end of the Tip-Off Tournament, meaning the regular season will finally begin after.
Coach Guthrie recognizes this, and has made it a point to the team to keep focus going forward into the new season.
“Our season literally resets after tonight. We have a 0–0 record as of now, and so we gotta take that into the showcase and literally have that presence to be day by day. For our guys, it’s a day-by-day in their improvement, because that’s what it’s all about,” said Guthrie.
The Lakers ended the tournament 7-7, but have hope going into the regular season if they can maintain most of their heavy hitters. With the constant call-ups to the parent team as of late though, nothing is guaranteed.
South Bay takes on Sioux falls at 9:00 a.m. Saturday for the first game of the Winter Classic.