LAS VEGAS—Earvin "Magic" Johnson sat at mid-court and Lakers coach Luke Walton watched from the sidelines, as Lonzo Ball made his NBA Summer League debut on Friday night in front of a national audience.
The Lakers' first bucket came from a lob tossed up by Ball to Brandon Ingram, and a packed Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV errupted in joy. While Ingram would score 26 points and display maturity and evolution in his 31 minutes on the court, Ball struggled to create shots and missed 10 of his 11 three-point attempts, including a couple of air balls.
"I just hate losing," Ball said in his usual monotone style following the dismal debut.
"This is the worst you can do, you can't go but up," Ball's outspoken father, Lavar, said to reporters after the game. "And you still keep your team in the game playing the worst game ever. That's what I like about this right here."
The elder Ball may have been a bit harsh to call this his son's "worst game ever," but Lonzo Ball did not have a memorable night. On the bright side, though, Ball seemingly recognized the hot hand he had in Ingram and managed to still contribute five assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block on the night. But missing 13 of his 15 shot attempts stood out like a Shaquille O'Neal at the free throw line.
Lavar Ball, though, offered praise for his son: "He took the shots. They didn't go in, but he took them. That's what I got to see. At the end of the game, are you going to take them [sic] big shots?"
Lavar Ball added, "It's better for him to start at the bottom."
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"He's a leader on the court," Ivica Zubac didn't seem at all deterred by Ball's bad shooting night. "He always talks. He's going to set you up. It's easy to play with him. You always want to play with a guard like Lonzo, and that's just what he does."
Zubac, who took blame for the defeat, added about Ball, "He just had a bad shooting night. He's going to be good next game."
Zubac's thoughts reflected the post-game comments of both Lakers Summer League coach Judd Buchler and Ingram.
One player that stood out for the Lakers was 19-year-old rookie Thomas Bryant. Playing for the Lakers with that famous last name is due to draw attention, but Bryant bares no resemblance to the recently retired LA Lakers' legend.
The 19-year-old rookie scored 13 points in 17 minutes to go along with five rebounds in an energetic debut. The crowd appreciated the unique power forward with a shooting touch, as he made his only long range attempt on the night and four of his five attempts over all.
Of course, the star of the game for the Lakers was Ingram. The 2016 no. 2 pick attacked the basket to take game-high honors in scoring and also contributed three assists and three steals. The former Duke Blue Devil helped bring the Lakers back into the ball game and hit the game-tying basket with 29.2 seconds remaining in regulation to force the overtime session.
However, Ingram missed the potential game winner and came up limp with a cramp after the final buzzer. Though the 19-year-old seemed to recover and walked off the court without assistance, Johnson insisted Ingram sit out the remainder of the game from his courtside seat.
Magic Johnson "that's it, it's over, he's done, shut him down" pic.twitter.com/FODp9Ypw4v— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) July 8, 2017
In the overtime session, Ball missed shots, and the Clippers got a perfect two minutes from Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell finished tied for game-high honors with 26 points, seven of which came in the two-minute overtime.
Next, the Lakers play on Saturday night against the Boston Celtics at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The Clippers next take the court at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday against the Utah Jazz.
