The South Bay Lakers came into Tuesday night’s matchup at the Delta Center looking to stop the bleeding. After dropping back-to-back games to the San Diego Clippers over the weekend, they were hoping to bounce back against a Salt Lake City Stars team that had already handed them a loss just two weeks prior. Unfortunately for South Bay, history repeated itself - and then some.
From the opening tip, Salt Lake City seized control and never let go. The Stars didn’t just win the game - they won every quarter, building a 67-52 lead by halftime and cruising to a 136-105 victory. It was the kind of performance that showcased the gap between a team clicking on all cylinders and one still searching for consistency.
Salt Lake’s game plan was clear: push the pace, pressure the ball, and dominate the paint. And they executed it to near perfection.
The Lakers shot just 41.9% from the field and 30.4% from deep, struggling to find rhythm against Salt Lake’s active defense. The Stars forced 18 turnovers, turning those mistakes into a staggering 39 fast-break points.
That kind of transition scoring will bury a team quickly - and it did.
The paint battle was just as lopsided. Salt Lake outscored South Bay 56-38 inside, using their physicality and ball movement to generate high-percentage looks. The Lakers simply couldn’t match that interior presence, and the result was a game that got away from them early and never came back within reach.
Still, there were some bright spots for South Bay. Luke Goode led the way with a double-double - 21 points and 10 rebounds - showing off his ability to contribute on both ends.
R.J. Davis added 16 points and eight assists, doing his best to keep the offense afloat.
Anton Watson chipped in 17 points, while rookies Chris Mañón and Arthur Kaluma each added 15, continuing to show flashes of promise.
But those individual efforts weren’t enough to overcome the collective breakdowns on defense and in transition. With the loss, South Bay falls to 5-4 on the season, now trailing the Stars by three games in the West pod standings. And if Tuesday’s game was any indication, the Lakers will need to tighten things up quickly if they want to keep pace in a competitive Western Conference.
The good news? There’s still time. The talent is there - now it’s about putting together a full 48 minutes.