Lakers Fall to the Mavericks, Will Play Friday Against the Jazz
The 11th-seeded Lakers lost in the opening round of the Las Vegas summer league tournament, falling to the No. 22 Dallas Mavericks, 88-86.
After falling behind by 10 points at th end of the first quarter, and 12 at halftime, the Lakers rallied in the third and fourth quarters to tie the score, 86-86, on a pair of Jabari Brown free throws with 1:25 left on the clock.
The Lakers forced the Mavericks into a turnover, but Julius Randle missed a running jumper. Jordan Clarkson got the rebound but was forced into a difficult layup attempt as the shot clock expired.
Again, the Lakers got the stop they needed with 38 seconds left, forcing Dwight Powell into a missed three-pointer, but rookie D’Angelo Russell lost the ball trying to split a double team for his third turnover of the game.
Former Clippers guard Maalik Wayns missed a shot with 2.4 seconds left but forward/center Jeremy Tyler, who went through training camp with the Lakers last season, grabbed the offensive rebound, making a layup to close the scoring for the night.
The Lakers went to Randle for one last shot, but his long three-point shot, taken well after the final horn, wasn’t close.
Mark Madsen, coaching the Lakers’ summer league squad, took responsibility for the team’s loss.
“I drew up a bad play,” said Madsen after the game. “This loss was on the head coach. I told the guys that. I thought that they all played great.
“Late game clock management was very poor, by myself,” he continued. “I want to give the players more. I want to give the players better.”
Randle took up for the team’s coach.
“It wasn’t a terrible play,” he said. “I’m not putting that on [Madsen]. We all make mistakes throughout the game. I kind of feel like that 1.4 [seconds] went fast though.”
Madsen pulled Randle with about five minutes left in the game, trying to keep him within the 20-minute limit for the second-year player who missed almost all of his first season with a broken leg.
Randle quickly checked back in, finishing slightly over his quota at 21, playing his best game of the summer season with 17 points on six of 11 shooting.
The minute restriction has been a significant source of frustration for the seventh overall pick in 2014.
“It’s killing me, man, but I have to keep it all in perspective,” said Randle.
Brown, who was moved into the starting lineup over rookie Anthony Brown, led the Lakers with 19 points. Clarkson finished with 17 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Russell finished with eight points, five assists and six rebounds, but missed all five of his three-point shots.
“It’s just about making shots. It hasn’t been my night,” said Russell. “When we lose, it’s not like we let ourselves or the team down, we let the whole Lakers nation down. … We’ve got to get it done.”
Tyler was the star of the game, leading the Mavericks with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Justin Anderson scored 16, but his standout play was a vicious block of a shot by Tarik Black.
The Lakers will play their final game of the summer on Friday at Cox Pavilion against the 13th-seeded Utah Jazz at 3 p.m. PDT.
Dallas advances to play the NBA Development League team at 3 p.m. Thursday.