South Bay Falls to Cleveland in Saturday Night Thriller

The South Bay Lakers (0-2) were defeated by the Cleveland Charge (2-0) 93-90 in the second night of their back-to-back set in Cleveland. Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, currently on assignment, led South Bay’s offense with 23 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. 

Forward Maxwell Lewis, also on assignment from Los Angeles, recorded a double-double with 14 points and a G League career-high 11 boards along with one assist and two steals. South Bay center Kylor Kelley notched 11 boards, eight points and three blocks. The Lakers dominated the first half, finishing the second quarter with a 55-47 lead while outrebounding the Charge by a 29-21 margin. Guard Sir’Jabari Rice rounded out the offense with 17 points off the bench, landing 3-3 from beyond the arc to take the Lakers to a four-point lead to finish the third quarter. 

Cleveland forward Feron Hunt posted a double-double performance with 18 points and 12 rebounds to go with three assists, two steals and one block. Cavaliers two-way center JT Thor followed suit with a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double with two assists, one steal and a game-high four blocks. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Craig Porter Jr., currently on assignment, coupled 14 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and one block while Charge guard Nae’Qwan Tomlin grabbed 13 points, four rebounds and one assist off the bench. The Lakers led with two minutes to go in the fourth quarter but could not secure the victory as the Charge went on a 15-2 run to close out the game. 

The Lakers next take on the Capitanes in a back-to-back Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 in Mexico City before returning home to play the Delaware Blue Coats Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif. Fans can click here to purchase tickets.