The Lakers beat Golden State on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco for a second straight win to start the California Classic. Below is a running diary of events as they occurred:
FIRST QUARTER
9:21: Jay Huff gathered an alley-oop toss from Scotty Pippen, Jr. and managed to finish through contact to secure an and-1, which he paid off at the charity stripe. Huff was terrific in Saturday’s opening win, but his nine points, seven boards and two blocks didn’t tell the full story, since he also impacted Miami at the rim all evening, as the key in holding them to 22 paint points.
7:21: Moses Moody, a 2021 lottery pick and rookie on the champion Warriors squad who showed promise later in the season and played some key minutes in the Western Finals against Dallas, took a blow to the head and had to head to the locker room to try and get the bleeding stopped. Moments later, Lakers rookie Max Christie converted a dunk from Pippen on a fast break for his first FG, putting LAL up 10-4.
1:09: Golden State got a three from Alex Morales to tie a game L.A. had led from the start at 20, but Lakers sub R.J. Cole quickly countered to restore the advantage. The margin after 10 minutes would be 23-21 after GSW split a pair of free throws. Huff finished the period with seven points (5 of 5 at the FT line).
SECOND QUARTER
6:14: Christie has been active on the glass to start the summer, and flew in to grab a miss, then grabbed his own miss, before tossing it out to a waiting Cole Swider. The Syracuse sharpshooter, who hit 5 of 7 FG’s and 3 of 5 3’s vs. MIA, rose to hit a triple that put LAL up 33-30 and forced a GSW time out. Out of the T.O., LAL got a stop with Christie forcing Moody to toss it out of the paint, and Swider then hit a second straight three on the other end.
2:48: Mac McClung, last season’s G League Rookie of the Year, capped an 8-2 Lakers run with a driving layup that got him to five bench points, and put LAL up 46-34 as they continued to control the second quarter, with a 23-13 edge to that point, behind some aggressive defense.
0:22.0: Huff, who had the first five points of the half, also had the last three, as he hit a corner triple on LAL’s final offensive possession to secure a 49-37 advantage at the break. LAL shot 46.9 percent from the field, including 5 of 12 from three (41.7 percent), and hit 14 of 17 FT’s. They held GSW to 42.4 percent field goals, limiting them to eight FT attempts, and four makes, for a +10 advantage at the charity stripe.
THIRD QUARTER
5:49: The lead expanded to 19 as Christie hit a tough baseline floater, his second such shot of the game, to reach eight points. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old continued his strong defensive play for the weekend, doing most of his work on Moody (3 for 8 FG’s with three turnovers and one assist to that point).
2:25: Swider was at it again from 3, drilling his second of the quarter, and fourth of the game to make it 68-48, Lakers. That’s a combined seven triples on 13 attempts over the weekend.
0:00: L.A.’s defense has been gritty in both games, and another stop to close the third quarter allowed a 72-53 lead heading into the final quarter. McClung converted a bucket on the previous possession to reach seven points to match Javante McCoy in bench points. All five LAL starters were in double figures already.
FOURTH QUARTER
8:51: McClung went up for a dunk, and appeared to be fouled on the way up, with Golden State challenging a ruling they’d eventually win. As McClung went to the sideline during the review, new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham popped out of his courtside seat near LAL’s bench to give McClung a big hug. Ham’s full of positive energy and laughs, but he’s equally adept at keeping things real with players, using film to support suggestions or asks.
5:21: With his father looking on from the stands, Pippen Jr. scored twice in a two-minute stretch, to keep LAL in firm control at 83-61. That got Pippen Jr. to a team-high 18 points on 4 of 7 FG’s, and 6 of 7 FT’s, plus an impressive eight assists without a turnover.
4:10: Swider’s fifth 3-pointer put the game on ice, securing a second straight win for the Lakers. Sacha Killeya-Jones added a pair of buckets in the final minutes, including his second three, to push the margin further.
0:00: Your final: Lakers 100, Warriors 77.