The 2017 NBA Summer League is slowly coming to an end, and so far we've witnessed some incredible performances in Las Vegas. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers played against the Dallas Mavericks in the Semifinals of this year's NBA Summer League. The game was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the place was crowded with more than 17,000 excited and energetic fans. It was also a highly anticipated matchup between two of the best rookie point guards from the 2017 draft class, Lonzo Ball, and Dennis Smith Jr.
Lakers cruise to a routine victory
It was a close game in the first quarter, as neither team was able to make a big run and pull away. The Lakers held a 19-16 lead midway through the first period, and after the first 12 minutes of the game the score was 34-24 for the "Purple and Gold." The Lakers started to pull away in the second period of the game. Midway through the second quarter, the score was 49-34, and at halftime, Los Angeles held a convincing 62-40 lead. They never looked back after that, as they dominated the game until the end. The score was 74-57 with 6 minutes in the third quarter, and heading into the final period of the game the Lakers led 84-67. The Mavericks tried their best, as they made a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter and cut the deficit down to 95-96 but that was the closest they came.
Los Angeles closed the game on a 10-2 run and celebrated a 108-98 victory.
The Lakers shot over 60 percent from the field in Sunday night's win and finished the game with 25 team assists. They connected on 17 of their 22 three-point attempts, and even though they had 21 turnovers for the game, it was a wire-to-wire victory.
Kuzma led all scorers with 24 points
All five starters scored in double-digits for Los Angeles in their semifinals victory against Dallas. Kyle Kuzma led them in scoring with 24 points and also added five rebounds, and five made three-pointers. Matt Thomas added 20 points while Vander blue had 17 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
But even though he played just 21 minutes on Sunday, the story of the night for the Lakers was Lonzo Ball again. He finished the game with 16 points, 10 assists, and 0 (zero) turnovers. Ball impressed again with his court vision and playmaking but had to leave the game in the third quarter due to tightness in his right calf.
For the Dallas Mavericks, it was Dennis Smith Jr. who led them with 21 points and six assists. Yogi Ferrell added 15 points and five assists for the Mavericks, but it wasn't enough. The Lakers will play on Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals of this year's NBA Summer League.
