LOS ANGELES — The Lakers’ chances of another trip to Las Vegas – and a shot at winning the NBA Cup’s ultimate prize of $530,000-plus per player – passed by them almost as quickly as the San Antonio Spurs’ variety of speedsters did on Wednesday night.
Because even with Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama sidelined for the 12th consecutive game because of a calf strain, the Lakers had no answers for San Antonio’s speed advantage.
The Spurs broke down and got into the teeth of the Lakers’ defense at Crypto.com Arena, built a comfortable lead behind strong 3-point shooting and handed the hosts a 132-119 defeat to knock them out of the in-season tournament in the quarterfinals despite Luka Donic recording 35 points, eight assists and five rebounds and leading a late-game comeback attempt.
Wednesday was the Lakers’ first loss in NBA Cup tournament play after they went undefeated (4-0) in Group Play.
The Lakers next face the Phoenix Suns, who also lost their quarterfinal matchup to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, on Sunday in Arizona.
The Spurs will square off with the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinal game on Saturday in Las Vegas, while the Orlando Magic will meet the New York Knicks in the East semifinal, also in Las Vegas.
The Lakers (17-7) kept up with the Spurs’ pace early, leading by as many as six midway through the first quarter via a ball screen-heavy offense and sturdy paint defense.
But once the Spurs (17-7) took advantage of their speed, and got out in the open court, the Lakers couldn’t keep up.
Whether it was Stephon Castle (30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) or De’Aaron Fox (20 points, four rebounds, three assists) leading the way, the Spurs (17-7) consistently put pressure on the Lakers’ defense with their perimeter speed.
San Antonio outscored the Lakers 15-4 in the final 2½ minutes of the first quarter to grab a 39-30 lead going into the second.
San Antonio went on a 17-2 run and opened an 18-point lead in the second quarter, with Castle and Harrison Barnes exploiting the Lakers’ season-long struggles in perimeter shooting defense.
The Spurs, who held a 70-58 lead at halftime, led by as many as 24 (114-90) early in the fourth quarter behind their strong 3-point shooting. San Antonio made 17 of its 38 3-point attempts, in addition to 29 of 36 free throws – with the latter being an advantage the Lakers usually have.
Late shot-making from Marcus Smart (season-high 26 points, eight 3-pointers) and a small-ball lineup helped the Lakers trim their deficit to 122-114 in the final minutes, but that was the closest they got.
Castle’s 3-pointer with 1:41 left gave the Spurs a 130-116 lead and essentially ended the Lakers’ comeback bid.
LeBron James recorded 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but Austin Reaves again struggled with his shot, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but shooting 6 for 16 from the field.
Keldon Johnson added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Eight Spurs scored at least eight points, and their bench outscored Los Angeles’ reserves 48-31.
More to come on this story.