South Bay Lakers Sweep Series With Celtics

The South Bay Lakers played their tenth home game against the Maine Celtics as they, won, 114-98 on Saturday night. Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Lakers (17-7) in scoring with 34 points. Luka Samancic paced the Celtics (14-10), scoring 27 points.

The first quarter was tight as expected, with these two playing just a few nights prior. Luka Samancic got off to another hot start with 13 first quarter points. Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Lakers with five points in the first quarter. It was all square, 27-27, after one. The Lakers started off the second frame on an 8-0 run to open the first substantial lead of the game for either team. South Bay was able to keep this cushion throughout the quarter, going into the half up seven. Bryce Hamilton put up seven second quarter points for the Lakers. Celtic guard Kamar Baldwin had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists at half. The Lakers led going to halftime, 61-54.

Similar to the previous game, Maine came out of the half motivated, quickly erasing South Bay’s lead and tying the game. However, Pippen Jr. caught fire, scoring 12 total points in the period to spark a late South Bay run. The Lakers closed the quarter on a 14-6 run and led 84-73 after three.

South Bay continued their stellar play on both ends to start the fourth quarter, stretching their lead out to as many as 20 points. It was cruise control from there, as the buckets continued to pour in from Pippen Jr., Max Christie and L.J. Figueroa, all scoring over five points in the quarter. The Lakers closed out the game, 114-98.

Pippen Jr. put together a final line of 34 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Christie added 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Figueroa contributed 15 points of his own. The Lakers bench outscored the Celtics 79-26, bringing the team to 23-3 when South Bay’s reserves outscore the opponents. For the Celtics, Samancic put up 27 points and five rebounds. Baldwin contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

South Bay will face off against Sioux Falls for their next game on Monday, March 6, at 7:00pm from the UCLA Health Training Center.