The Lakers and Clippers brought their usual edge to Summer League on Tuesday night, and it showed long before the final buzzer. Los Angeles walked away with a 99-85 win, but the game turned chippy in the second quarter and never really lost that bite.
The flashpoint came late in the second when Adou Thiero was flying in for a transition dunk with the Lakers ahead 39-30. Clippers forward Norchad Omier stepped in underneath him and sent him to the floor with a hard foul. Thiero popped right back up, but the contact quickly spilled into something bigger.
As Lakers teammates moved in, Arthur Kaluma and Chris Manon shoved Omier away. Omier answered by pushing Manon from behind, and that brought players from both sides into the mix before things were separated.
Omier, who had already been assessed a flagrant 1 foul, was later hit with a technical. Clippers guard Riley Kugel also received a technical, while Kaluma was the lone Lakers player penalized with one.
The scuffle seemed to sharpen the Lakers’ edge the rest of the half. Even though Kaluma and Thiero both missed their free throws after the incident, Los Angeles finished the quarter strong.
Over the final four minutes before halftime, the Lakers outscored the Clippers 15-8 and took a 54-38 lead into the break. Anton Watson and Cameron Carr helped drive that push.
The Clippers made a better showing of the second half, and they had a solid comeback effort in the fourth quarter. But the Lakers’ 22-point cushion entering the final period was too steep to erase.
Carr led the way for the Lakers with 23 points and two assists on 8-of-18 shooting. Manon added 17 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Kaluma finished with 15 points, four assists and 3-of-6 shooting from deep. Thiero chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, one steal and one block.
For the Clippers, Kobe Sanders posted 18 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Keaton Wagler added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Nico Martinelli gave them 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, but it wasn’t enough to swing the game.
The win moved the Lakers to 3-0 at Summer League, and they’ll take that record into Thursday’s matchup against Caleb Wilson and the Chicago Bulls, who are 1-2.
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