After winning seven of their previous eight games, the South Bay Lakers fell on Friday to the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Friday by a score of 117-113 despite 35 points from guard Quincy Olivari. They returned home on Monday to face the Santa Cruz Warriors as their regular season schedule winds down.
After scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, Bronny James headed back to the G League on Monday. Not only did he continue the momentum he had been building lately, but he greatly enhanced it.
South Bay trailed 24-12 late in the first quarter, but a 17-4 run that extended into the second quarter gave it the lead. The second and third quarters were a competitive back-and-forth battle, but South Bay pulled away down the stretch and held off the Warriors for a 122-118 victory.
James was the main man on this night with quite possibly his best performance yet as a pro. He hit 14 of his 21 field-goal attempts and went 4-of-8 from 3-point range to score 39 points, to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block (although he did commit seven turnovers).
He continued to look much more comfortable, poised and confident than he did just two to three months ago.
However, South Bay’s other main threats didn’t do well. Olivari went 1-of-11 from the field, while starting forwards Cole Swider and Stanley Johnson combined to go 9-of-23 overall. The three players combined to miss all 12 of their 3-point attempts.
But James continues to make definite strides toward whatever his fate is as a pro basketball player, and there is suddenly some real optimism about what the immediate future could hold for him.
