South Bay Lakers Victorious at Home, 114-104
By South Bay Lakers Staff /March 14, 2024
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The South Bay Lakers beat the Westchester Knicks by a 114-04 final tally Wednesday evening at UCLA Health Training Center, improving their NBA G League regular season record to 16-11. Shaq Harrison paced South Bay in scoring with a career-high points 36, breaking his previous career-high of 33 that he had only just set last week. Jacob Toppin led the way for Westchester (8-20) with 26.
South Bay guard Shaq Harrison started the period on a mission to be disruptive on the defensive end. Harrison’s five first quarter steals are the most any player has totaled in a quarter this season. Harrison matched his record number of takeaways with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists in the frame. The Lakers led 32-27 after one.
There wasn’t much between the teams in the second frame, as both teams traded baskets for most of the quarter. Knicks forward Jacob Toppin led the way at the half with 19 points and six rebounds. Bryce Hamilton scored eight in the second period for the Lakers, who led by two at the break, 64-62.
The third period followed a similar flow to the second as the game continued to remain tight. Hamilton and Harrison combined for 20 on the 27 Laker points in the quarter. South Bay led 91-88 going into final frame. A quick 14-5 run to open the fourth gave the Lakers a nice cushion for the remaining part of the quarter. From there, South Bay never looked back, closing out the game 114-104.
Harrison finished with a career-high 36 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, seven steals and two blocks in 44 minutes, while Bryce Hamilton added 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes. Damion Baugh tallied 18 points to go along with seven boards, three assists and one steals.
For the Knicks, Toppin registered 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out three assists, while Obadiah Noel posted 23 points, brought down six rebounds and shelled out two assists.
Up next, South Bay will hit the road to play the Rip City Remix on Friday, March 15, at 6 p.m. PT at the Chiles Center in Portland, Ore.