Even with all the sports dignitaries in attendance and even though they were watching a rivalry game of sorts between the Lakers and Clippers, the fans inside the Thomas & Mack Center still were mostly enamored with Bronny James.
That is the kind of drawing power James had even with his dad, LeBron James, watching again from his baseline seats. That’s the kind of draw James had even with Steve Ballmer, Tyronn Lue, JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka in attendance.
Even with Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Kawhi Leonard looking on, Bronny James was the center of attention yet again.
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James had one of his better NBA Summer League games, but it was the Clippers who came out on top in a 67-58 win Monday night at Nevada Las Vegas.
James had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes and 17 seconds.
He was six for 10 from the field and three for five from three-point range.
And, yes, he was happy to have the support of his family and teammates.
“It definitely gave me a little boost, seeing them cheer for me and my teammates,” James said. “It’s great to get in the gym with them.”
The star of the night was Clippers forward Jordan Miller, his 19 points and seven rebounds a big reason why the Clippers are 3-0 in the summer league.
His three-pointer late in the fourth quarter gave the Clippers a lead they never lost. He scored nine of the Clippers’ last 11 points.
“We got it done,” said Clippers assistant coach Jeremy Castleberry, who is the team’s summer league coach. “We got it done. We did what we needed to do, the second night of a back-to-back. For a lot of those guys, it was the first back-to-back they played in a long time. So, happy we got it done.”
James started strong, shooting a three-pointer to open the scoring. He added a step-back three in the second quarter, those two shots being part of his 12 first-half points on four-for-four shooting.
He made a three-pointer in the fourth quarter that tied the score 51-51.
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“Yeah, I can see growth, for sure,” James said. “Honestly, I just feel like my confidence is growing over the last year and a half or so. So, I’m just going to grow on that and keep my mind right.”
The Lakers shot 34.4% just from the field, 30% from three-point range and 38.5% from the free-throw line (five for 13). They also turned the ball over 19 times.
Lakers assistant coach Lindsey Harding said the team showed signs of “fatigue,” which she expected considering it was their sixth summer game (they played three games at the California Classic in San Francisco).
“It just seemed like we didn’t have much pop,” said Harding, the Lakers’ summer league coach.
But not James. He seemed energized the entire game.
“Bronny came ready. He came ready. He had the spark,” Harding said. “You want these guys, especially him in that position and who he’ll be with us with the Lakers, when you get your minutes, go hard. Play until exhaustion, we’ll take you out and then we’ll put you back in. I thought that he did that today.
“He did a great job, even on the offensive end in finding players, making reads on pick-and-rolls. I think they struggled guarding him and he did a great job on the defensive end.”
But James wasn’t the only one who got the fans excited.
Clippers rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser threw down a nasty dunk on Cole Swider in the third quarter, which brought the crowd to its feet.
Niederhauser had another strong outing for the Clippers with 10 points, two rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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