SAN DIEGO — Against a team featuring four of the best players in the world, Brandon Ingram had his most comfortable game of the preseason, as the Lakers' No. 2 overall pick collected 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 123-112 loss.
The 19-year-old found his rhythm both on his own and through head coach Luke Walton.
Ingram was encouraged to handle the ball when he snagged rebounds and also given the opportunity to run the offense when Walton played him at point forward for large minutes.
“(Walton) knows my weaknesses and my strong points,” said Ingram, who led his team in scoring and rebounding. “So when he saw that I like to play with the ball in my hand, he put me in a position where I can dribble the ball, make plays for myself and also make plays for other players.”
Walton said that allowing Ingram to run the point gives him more confidence and that showed late when he scored 14 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“Brandon is further along as a basketball player than I would expect any kid coming out of college after one year to be,” Walton said.
Ingram — who added two steals — hadn't necessarily wowed prior to this game, averaging 6.0 points in six exhibitions on 32.4 percent shooting.
But Walton assured that he hasn't let his growing pains affect his mentality.
“For a lot of young guys with that much pressure (of) playing for the Lakers, being a No. 2 pick, they would get discouraged easily and then shy away,” Walton said. “Any time you talk to (Ingram), he's stayed confident. He believes in what he can do and it was nice to see that kind of happen tonight.”
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Oct 19, 2016 at 7:47pm PDT
Dubs Get the Dub Four days after beating the Lakers in Las Vegas, the Warriors once again flexed their might — particularly through their four All-Stars.
Stephen Curry put on a show for the San Diego crowd, piling up 32 points in 31 minutes. The reigning MVP shot 11-of-19 from the field with six 3-pointers while finding time to pick up five rebounds and five points.
Meanwhile Kevin Durant went off for 27 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Klay Thompson (19 points, eight rebounds) and Draymond Green (10 points, eight rebounds, five assists) also made the Lakers pay.
“You don't want to help off of KD or Curry or Klay,” Nick Young said. “It's tough. When they put the ball on the floor, you've just got to try to come with your best game.”
For what it's worth, Young was one of the Lakers who fought back and kept the game somewhat in reach.
Starting in place of Luol Deng (rest), Young dropped 19 points with five 3-pointers and once again gave notable effort with his defense and rebounding.
“He's playing as well as anyone on our team, if not the best on our team, honestly,” Walton said. “If you go back and watch some of the tape, too, on the defensive effort he's giving chasing over screens — he was messing with Kevin Durant tonight, and that's not easy for anybody.”
The rest of the Lakers' offense drew mixed results.
Jordan Clarkson got the start at shooting guard and pitched in 11 points but on 3-of-9 shooting. D'Angelo Russell scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and tallied seven assists, yet he shot 5-of-13 and committed seven turnovers.
Ironically, the Warriors — who set the NBA record for made 3-pointers last season before adding another sharpshooter in Durant — hit only 11 triples while the Lakers sunk 14.
This can be attributed at least in part to Walton wanting to run a similar system to Golden State, where he spent the past two years as an assistant coach.
“It's fun to watch them play,” Ingram said. “They're kind of a model for how we want to play someday.”
A Block by Mozgov on one end leads to a #Swaggy3 on the other #GoLakers pic.twitter.com/nzvnigSaxt
Notes Starting center Timofey Mozgov (four points) left the game in the third quarter due to a bruised tailbone after a hard fall. … Curry scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the second half. … A crowd of 13,669 filed into Valley View Casino Center. … Before the game, Walton, a San Diego native, visited a bronze statue of his father, Bill, on display at the arena.
Luke gets a first look at his Dad's statue here in San Diego
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Oct 19, 2016 at 5:56pm PDT
