For the second time in the 2017 NBA Summer League, Lonzo Ball recorded a triple-double.
On Thursday, Ball finished the night with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, five steals and two blocks in a 94-83 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the round of 16 of the Las Vegas Summer League tournament.
Yes, the Lakers are in the playoffs, and they're making noise with two straight wins in the tournament and three consecutive victories over all. The Lakers go for four-in-a-row against the Brooklyn Nets in the quarterfinals, which will be played on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
On Thursday, though, as was the case on Wednesday night, Ball stole the show. The 19-year-old rookie, again, took center stage in a nationally televised game and played with poise to help the Lakers hold a narrow lead for the duration of the second half. His six turnovers illustrated that he was far from perfect, but one would be unfair to diminish his starring role in the victory.
After an awful first game, Ball is averaging 21.0 points, 11.3 assists, 9.7 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game over his last three games. Even though his 5.7 turnovers are eye-popping, he's played starred on the stage.
Ball may have been the most dominant personality on the court, but Kyle Kuzma's shooting impressed once again. Kuzma, who was a late first round pick that arrived via the Lakers' trade with Houston, shot 50 percent from the field, including 4-8 from three-point land.
The rookie has seemingly already grown comfortable with the extended NBA long ball line, and the ability to hit the long bomb should help the 21-year-old get rotation minutes during the regular season.
Also, Vander Blue scored 18 points in the win, while Ivica Zubac recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Zubac, though, noticably struggled with the fast pace of play at times. While Summer League can be even more frantic than the NBA, the Lakers' big man has not looked especially dominant in Las Vegas thus far.
For the Cavs, Kay Felder scored 25 points to lead all scorers.
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Notes: Ball wore James Harden's Adidas on Thursday after wearing Kobe Bryant's Nike's on Wednesday. Ball wore his own shoes in the first two games but went on to explain that he can wear which ever shoes he pleases with his family brand: BBB (Big Baller Brand).
