The Lakers will conclude summer play Saturday against the Chicago Bulls in Las Vegas, seeking their third consecutive victory after losing their first five games.
Bronny James scored 13 points Thursday as the Lakers won their second game in two nights, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-89, in an NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas.
James, a second-round choice in last month’s draft and oldest son of LeBron James, made 5 of 10 shots, including 1 of 3 3-point shots, both of his free throws, grabbed five rebounds, had three assists, two blocked shots and three turnovers.
The Lakers outscored the Cavaliers by one point in the 25 minutes, 3 seconds James was on the court in the 40-minute game at Thomas & Mack Center.
The 13 points were James’ most in his six games as a Laker and came one day after his previous high, 12, in an 87-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday.
First-round draft choice Dalton Knecht led five Lakers in double figures Thursday with 20 points, while center Colin Castleton and forward Maxwell Lewis each added 12 and forward Armel Traoré 10 in 13:23 off the bench.
The Lakers (2-2) trailed 72-68 entering the fourth quarter. They took their first lead of the quarter on James’ 5-foot driving bank hook with 5:05 left, but Cleveland regained the lead 17 seconds later on Pete Nance’s 25-foot 3-point jump shot.
The Cavaliers (1-3) increased their lead to 89-84 with 3:18 to play on another 3-point basket by Nance, but never scored again, missing their final six shots.
James began the Lakers’ concluding 9-0 run with a 26-foot 3-point basket with 3:03 remaining. Knecht tied the score, 89-89, with a cutting layup with 2:34 remaining.
Knecht’s two free throws gave the Lakers a 91-89 lead with 2:10 left. The Lakers missed their next three shots and committed two turnovers before Knecht sealed the victory by making two free throws with four-tenths of a second left.
Guard Jaylon Tyson, the 20th selection in last month’s draft, scored a game-high 21, while Nance added 16 and forward Emoni Bates added 14 for the Cavaliers (1-3).
Nance is the brother of Larry Nance Jr. who played for the Lakers from 2015-18 and son of Larry Nance who played for the Phoenix Suns from 1981-88 and Cleveland from 1988-94.
The Bulls’ (2-2) roster includes 6-foot-10-inch forward Matas Buzelis, the 11th choice in the draft after averaging 14.3 points and 6.9 rebounds for G League Ignite and 6-foot-9-inch forward-center Adama Sanogo, who was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Final Four when he helped lead Connecticut to the NCAA championship.
The 4 p.m. game will be televised by NBA TV.