Lakers crush Bulls, end Las Vegas Summer League

(Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the Las Vegas Summer League on Saturday afternoon, taking on the Chicago Bulls at the Thomas & Mack Center.

After losing their first two games in Las Vegas and five overall including the California Classic, the Lakers finally found their groove by winning the last two. They tried to keep that momentum going and finish on a high note against the Bulls, but they were without Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Maxwell Lewis who were resting after playing heavy minutes in previous games.

It didn’t matter as the Lakers got off to a flying start and cruised to a 107-81 victory over Chicago. LA finished 3-2 in Las Vegas’ Summer League standings.

With so many players out, Sean East II had more chances to score early in the game and scored five points early. DJ Steward, who scored 37 points yesterday, also made a difference again early in the game with his team’s first seven points. The Lakers, however, took a 13-9 lead after a triple by Blake Hinson.

After a timeout, Vincent Valerio-Bodon extended the Lakers’ lead to double digits with back-to-back three-pointers. Hinson also continued to make a difference with 13 points in the first quarter and the Lakers went 7-of-7 from three-point range to take a commanding 39-18 lead late in the second quarter.

Quincy Olivari played a big role in that barrage of three-pointers and he followed that up with another to start the second half. Hinson also stayed in form throughout the first half, leading the way with 21 points as the Lakers headed into the locker room with a comfortable 56-36 lead.

The scoring pace slowed considerably in the third quarter as Hinson and the Lakers cooled off. The Bulls couldn’t really take advantage, though, as they still trailed 72-58 heading into the fourth quarter.

Moses Brown was a force in the low end all day for the Lakers and that continued early in the fourth quarter with a three-point play followed by a triple from Hinson. Olivari also got in on the action from deep and that essentially put the game out of reach for the Lakers who went on to win.

Hinson finished the game with 25 points, while Olivari scored 20 as a substitute.

What’s next for the Lakers?

As mentioned earlier, this game marked the end of the Las Vegas Summer League for the Lakers as they did not qualify for the playoffs. All of the young players can now take what they learned from this experience and use it to improve their game for the rest of the summer before reporting to training camp in September.

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