Lakers grab second Summer League win behind Dalton Knecht, Bronny James

Dalton Knecht and Bronny James lead the Lakers to a second-straight win in Las Vegas on Thursday against the Cavs.

The Lakers made it back-to-back wins on back-to-back nights on Thursday with a come-from-behind victory against the Cavaliers, 93-89.

Dalton Knecht continued his excellent Summer League play with 20 points on 7-16 shooting. Bronny James’ confidence was still soaring as he ended with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Maxwell Lewis pitched in with 12 points and four rebounds. Colin Castleton dished out seven assists along with 12 points and six rebounds. Armel Traoré had 10 points, six rebounds and a block.

The game began slowly, but Lewis opened up the Lakers' offense. Bronny and Knecht took charge immediately. Los Angeles ended up building a six-point lead. Emoni Bates was the main man for the Cavaliers and helped keep them in the mix despite LA's momentum.

The Lakers had 11 attempts from behind the arc and only converted on three in the early stages. They weren’t shooting as well as Wednesday where it seemed they were making everything. At the end of the first, the Lakers were up four.

Cleveland snatched the momentum away from Los Angeles and cut the deficit to one well into the second quarter. They then grabbed the lead by three on a 7-0 run. Jaylon Tyson was a big part of the Cavaliers' run, dishing six dimes.

The rest of the half belonged to Cleveland as the Lakers couldn’t generate offense. LA's mini-surge helped them close to within four at halftime.

After the Cavaliers started the second half slowly, their offense woke up, and they went up by eight. Although Cleveland had seized control of the game, both teams played at a lackadaisical pace throughout all three quarters.

Despite the lack of rhythm, the Lakers were still very much in the game. A 7-0 run by LA cut the deficit to three. The run had extended to 9-0 but a 3-pointer by Tyson helped Cleveland maintain a four-point lead at the end of the third.

The Cavaliers' lead was quickly down to one to begin the final frame, but despite the Lakers making small runs to catch up, Cleveland kept having the answers to stop them. Moses Brown had another productive game off the bench and his scoring kept the Lakers in it.

An empathic dunk by Traoré tied the game. He was up to double figures and was another player off the bench, providing some life to the team. A layup high off the glass by Bronny gave the Lakers a one-point lead.

A step-back three by Bronny and a layup by Knecht tied the game. Knecht was then fouled and knocked down two free throws to give LA a two-point lead. Knecht and Bronny took over at the end and two more free throws from Knecht sealed the win for the Lakers.

Key Takeaways:

Dalton Knecht continues to showcase excellence throughout these Summer League games. There’s not much else to say, he’s ready for the big club.

Bronny once again had a solid showing and seems to be getting more comfortable shooting the ball. He still has his moments of uncertainty, but he’s improved leaps and bounds.

Catch the next game of the Vegas Summer League on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.