South Bay Lakers’ Season Ends With Loss In G League Western Conference Finals

The Los Angeles Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, saw their season come to an end in the Western Conference Finals on Sunday night, falling to 101-97 to the Stockton Kings.

Lakers two-way forward Drew Timme led the way with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the loss while two-way guard Chris Mańon finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. South Bay actually held a nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Kings ended the game on a 21-8 run to take the game and move on to the G League Finals where they will face the Greensboro Swarm.

Unfortunately for South Bay, the injuries to the Lakers superstars Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique injury) caused multiple contributors to be with the main team in Dallas on Sunday. Adou Thiero, Kobe Bufkin, Nick Smith Jr. and Dalton Knecht had all been part of the South Bay postseason run, but were unavailable in the Western Conference Finals.

It is a disappointing end to the season for South Bay, who finished 26-10 for the top record in the Western Conference, which included a franchise-record 12-game win streak through February and March. The win percentage was also the second-highest in the history of the franchise.

The G League playoffs are very different from the standard NBA as it is a single-elimination tournament until the Finals, which is a best-of-3 series.

South Bay took down the San Diego Clippers in the first-round 122-119 with Timme leading the way with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Smith added 18 off the bench, while Bufkin finished with 20 while also icing the game with a block on a last-second 3-point attempt by the Clippers.

The Lakers would then take down the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the second round, 112-97. This time it was Knecht who was outstanding as he finished with a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds. Bufkin added 18 points, four rebounds and three assists while Smith added 11 off the bench.

This was South Bay’s first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2018 and the team took a major leap in head coach Zach Guthrie’s second season at the helm.

JJ Redick: Lakers must extend season

With their two leading scorers and primary creators out, the Lakers will need everyone to step up if they hope to have any postseason success. And head coach JJ Redick says it is the job of the team to extend the season in order to allow for the chance of Doncic and Reaves to return in the playoffs.